More Than Heroes
by xxGUSHINESSxx
Summary: Book Three to Popular Series: I've always thought that the reason I catch Starfire when she falls is because I don't want her to suffer the same fate as my parents, but lately I've been thinking it's for a different reason.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

_Here it is! Part three! Hopefully I get lots of review like I did for my last two stories, which would be much appreciated! ;)_

~0~0~0~

I always thought that the reason I catch her when she falls is because I don't want her to get hurt. That I couldn't live with myself if something happened to her, and I could have done something to prevent it. After all she is my teammate, not to mention my best friend.

Yes, that's what I wish the reason would be. Well, she _is_ my best friend. I can't remember feeling so strongly about someone, knowing that they'll always be there for me, no matter how tough a situation seems.

I also think it's because of my parents; then again everything leads back to them eventually. The whole reason I became Robin in the first place was for my parents, for revenge. I guess the name and persona just kind of stuck over the years.

Anyway, I guess it has to do with them also. If she ever fell to her death like them…I just don't think I could take another blow like that.

But…lately…it seems like those reasons don't mean anything anymore. I've denied any feelings I've ever had because of our responsibilities. It would be selfish to put my own needs over the city's. It's not like I'm good at expressing myself either.

So yeah, she's there, she's real, she's still hoping that I'll change my mind about us. Sometimes I wish she would just give up, but she's not like that. She's persistent, and that only makes things harder. I suppose I didn't really help things by kissing her too. That just fueled her hope. Every time she thinks I'm pulling her closer, in reality I'm pushing her even farther away.

I don't like her like that. I don't…but now it's getting harder to keep believing that.

And it's all I can do to believe…

I always thought that the reason I catch her when she falls is because I don't want her to get hurt.

But lately I've been thinking it's for a different reason.


	2. Be Mine?

**Author's Note:**

_Don't have a lot to say so far, I just wanna let you people know that I won't be updating as fast as I normally do because of school coming and such. Keep reviewing please! That boosts my confidence! _

~0~0~0~

In the end, everything always comes down to Slade.

I should have known, should have seen it coming. I just never expected that he would be the cause, even though the signs were so clear.

He wasn't supposed to be a part of their murder. Tony Zucco was the man in charge. But in the background, Slade had held onto the money. He took care of the things behind the scenes.

_And now he knows your identity…_

My fingers dug into my leg as I watched the monitors for some sign of his reappearance. I know what he looks like now, without his mask. Slade Wilson…after some research I've found out that he has two sons and a daughter. I don't know their whereabouts currently. I'm completely and utterly stuck.

At this point I think I'm just fueled by anger and a new revenge. Revenge for my parents, and for my best friend. He hurt her; he was planning to kill her, even when she didn't pose a threat anymore. She was so lost when I found her, lying broken next to that fireplace. Her blood had stained the carpet; her eyes were glassy, her heart barely beating.

He had almost killed her. And I had basically set her up for it.

Starfire forgave me too easily. She thought that _she_ was the one at fault because she had snuck into my mind to learn more about me. Although it was an invasion of my privacy, it wasn't worth her life.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I had kissed her again. I was hoping that she wouldn't be too forward about it, that she would assume things would change between us. In the end, she had forgotten it. We didn't talk about it. It wasn't even considered a real kiss. It was meant to be under the mistletoe after all.

But _wow_ did it feel nice. It had been so long, ever since Tokyo, that I had the pleasure of her lips against mine. But old habits die hard. They always did, they always do.

I saw her in the hallways sometimes but I don't talk to her much. I don't talk to anybody, and they don't really talk to me. They know how I am with Slade, but they just don't understand. They don't understand that _I can handle it._ I made mistakes in the past, but so what? Did I have to drag up all of their mistakes? Let's just see how sour they turn out when I do.

I let my head rest against the screen of the monitor. I didn't have anything else to type or search. It was a dead end. And it had lasted for almost two months. I glanced tiredly at the calendar on my desk. It read February 14th. Something about that date seemed like it was supposed to be important. Whatever, it must not matter or I would have remembered.

When my stomach growled I remembered that I hadn't eaten since yesterday at lunch. I forced myself up, my neck aching because of the position I had been in for the past eight hours. My door slid open and I forced down a yawn. I didn't have time for sleep. I needed to find everything I could about Slade.

The ops room was strangely quiet. Cyborg was making bacon and eggs on the stove and I'm surprised that Beast Boy hadn't complained about it yet. No, strangely enough he's with Raven on the sofa. They're reading the same book. Huh, Beast Boy, reading. I wondered if Raven brainwashed him into it. It's possible but I don't think it's likely.

Starfire wasn't anywhere. She's been by herself a lot lately, although don't ask me where she goes because I have no clue. I mentally kick myself sometimes because I know I should comfort her. She's been through a traumatic experience because of me. Shouldn't I help her through it? I should, but just when I'm about to, I find a new lead on Slade's case and the cycle repeats.

Cyborg nodded to me when he saw me come in. I knew he was just trying to be supportive, even though he has been leading this team more than I have lately. I'm glad I have him around because I'll admit I'm not really that reliable these days. It's not my fault though, it's Slade's.

Grabbing a piece of bacon, I made my way over to the ops monitors. It couldn't hurt to check those as well. It's all I've been doing lately anyway.

The door suddenly slid open, and I could hear Starfire's happy laughter as she burst into the room. It's good to hear that she's happy again but I really need quiet right now. That didn't stop her though. She flew around the room wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day.

Crap. I knew there was something important about today. Well, whatever, it doesn't matter. I'm far too busy to worry about some petty lover's day. Especially since I don't have a lover in the first place.

"Thanks little lady," Cyborg boomed, and I assumed that she had just handed him something. There goes my concentration.

"Of course friend Cyborg!" she exclaimed. She then darted over to Beast Boy and Raven, bestowing gifts to them. They thanked her and I think they returned to their reading until I hear Beast Boy's raspy whisper.

"Whatcha get Robin?" he snickered.

My shoulders automatically tensed. How come he hasn't got it through that thick green head of his? I'm _not_ interested in this. I never will be. I'm sick of the teasing and joking and laughter. I'm sick of feeling guilty when I blast everyone about it too. I'm sick of not being able to find even a trace of Slade on these stupid, worthless, monitors!

It's not until Starfire placed a hand gently on my shoulder that I realize I'm breathing heavily. I didn't mind its presence although I should. It would make things way easier.

Before she could hand me whatever she had to give I marched off to my room. Once I'm safe from everybody I fell onto my bed, and buried my face in my pillow. I let out an exaggerated groan. I'm not certain but I'm fairly sure that I had what is known as the beginnings of a migraine.

The soft knock of the door blasted through my ears. It's her, I'm sure. I didn't get up to answer it like I normally would. I just let her keep knocking until the sound died away and she was gone. It just then occurred to me how big a jerk I really am.

I'll have to apologize later, at least I know that much. I really hoped she's not balling her eyes out in her room. I've lost track of the amount of times I've made her cry. Three? Four? Who knows? I caught myself just when I was about to ask who cared. Wow…who have I become?

Ugh, I know _exactly _who. And I don't like it at all. After all this is what I left Gotham to get away from in the first place. And not I'm right back where I started. Maybe it was time that I dropped the whole Robin persona and just made the switch to Nightwing. When Starfire had told me about it I was more than eager to start working on it…yet I wasn't quite ready to give up Robin.

The truth is, I still don't think I'm ready.

There are times when I wish to just get over who I am, make it a thing of the past, yet there's a part of me that holds back. I guess it's because Robin was and still is everything I've worked for. It would seem wrong to just toss it away for good.

Eventually my stomach started to rumble again. I'm not sure if it had to do with being cooped up in my room all day long that made me hungry, but whatever it was I needed food again.

My door slid open silently. The orange rays from the sun tinted part of the hallway with its color where a window was placed. Already the sun had begun to set. I inwardly cursed. That meant another day of failure.

I was about to place my foot outside the door when something on the ground caught my eye. The object was so small most people wouldn't have even been able to see it. Then again I am not most people. The object was oddly shaped and was a bright pink color. I could tell that it was deliberately placed in front of my door because by the center. It was almost as if someone had _wanted_ me to notice it.

Bending down, I scooped up the object into my hand carefully, as if I was afraid that it would burst into flames. Now upon closer inspection I realized it was a candied heart, probably from someone's Valentine's Day candy. Now I would have just assumed that Beast Boy had been sloppy and had just dropped it while he was scarfing his sweets down but it seemed too much of a coincidence. Not to mention the words on the heart were facing my door so I could clearly see them.

When I read the words my grim expression slipped off my face. It was instead replaced with a soft expression. I felt a tightening in my chest but I'm not certain if it was from guilt or pain. The words on that heart reopened all of my wounds that I thought had healed. I was thankful that no one was around because I had lost my composure all from those two words.

_Be Mine?_

Starfire had left the heart out for me, knowing I would find it. I knew that she didn't actually mean for it to hurt me but it had in a way. It made me feel like the worst person in the world at that point, and that was a truly terrible feeling.

I took a deep breath when I realized I had been holding it in. God I was a mess. I needed to get my act together if I was to catch Slade, if I was to repair what I have…_had_ with Starfire.

I was so deep in thought that I jumped when the Titan alarm rang out. The orange hallway flashed red as the warning lights flashed overhead. I stood there for a moment, distracted. Then I curled my fist up in determination, letting the heart burst into pink sugary dust, before I ran down the hallway to join the others.

**Author's Note:**

_I know, I know, it was boring, it was short…but I wanted a steady beginning so the action and such can come later. Anyways please read and review!_


	3. The Truth

**Author's Note:**

_Let me just say thanks to everyone that has been reviewing so far! I'll try to update when I can!_

~0~0~0~

No one was in the mood to make dinner that night, and I can't say I blame them. After suffering injuries from some alien beast I had never heard of, I wasn't looking forward to making spaghetti for five. So when in doubt, we ordered pizza…obviously.

When Beast Boy went to the door to pick it up, I gathered the rest of the team together on the sofa so we could discuss what had happened that day. I could tell Cyborg and Raven were less than thrilled, but that really wasn't my concern right now. We waited in silence until Beast Boy had returned with the food. He was already eating a slice when he did.

"Guys," he said with his mouth full. "I don't know about you, but I'm glad they opened up that new pizza place. This stuff is _awesome!_ Who knew pizza could be crunchy _and _delicious?!"

"Well, grass stain, maybe if you handed some over instead of hoggin' it all, we'd see what you mean," Cyborg complained, grabbing a box.

BB huffed before handing another box to me. I took a slice and then passed it to Starfire. I got up and retrieved some mustard for her. She nodded her thanks to me. I frowned. Had I said something she hadn't liked? If so, she would tell me…wouldn't she?

I shook the thought aside as my stomach grumbled painfully. I scarfed down a slice then went for seconds. Wow, BB was right, this pizza _was _good.

"Where's this from?" I asked, curious.

He shrugged in response. "Some place called Troy's or something. The people there are kinda creepy though."

Raven raised her eyebrows. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing!" he said immediately, his eyes going wide. "I like creepy people. Creepy all the way!"

I couldn't be sure but I might have seen Raven give a ghost of a small in response.

"Please," the sound of Star's voice intruded my thoughts. "What must be discussed about today's battle?"

The other Titans looked at me expectantly.

I finished off my second slice then took a deep breath. "Well, it's only fair to say that we've never faced anything like this before. I just thought it would be beneficial for all of us if Starfire told us more about this creature. That way we can take it down faster, and then focus in on Slade." I punched fist into my hand to prove I was serious about this. I glanced up at my team, and their reactions weren't what I had expected.

They all had this deflated look about them. I could tell that Raven and Cyborg were groaning inwardly, while Beast Boy, who was oblivious to pretty much everyone's discreet annoyance, actually groaned out loud. Starfire was tapping her index fingers together, which is something she did when she was uncomfortable.

"What?" I asked sharply.

"Uhh…" Raven started, glancing to the side.

"Look man," Cyborg blurted, clearly conscious about the awkward atmosphere. "It's just that…we don't really want you to get too worked up about this. You already freaking out about Slade so-"

"I haven't been freaking about him," I snapped. Cyborg put his hands up in a sign of peace.

"You kinda have dude," Beast Boy said quietly.

I rounded on him, my pulse was racing now, and I wasn't sure how long I could go until I snapped.

"Even if I have been, can you blame me?" I spluttered with anger, my voice rising. "Think of all of the crimes he's committed. And now….now we know he's a murderer. He almost killed Star! He _knows_ what I look like. He _knows_ my real name. And _I _know _his! _Don't you see? We're so close to catching him, and you're all just sitting there!" I was screaming now, a vein throbbed in my neck. Spit flew from my mouth.

I stood there breathing heavily for several moments, looking around at all of their faces. Starfire was crying. I think this had been about the fifth time that it was my fault. The others just sat there in shock. I hadn't told them anything about our mission to Gotham two months ago, and they hadn't asked. They thought we had eloped and to be honest, I'd rather have them believe that. But now all of that was out the window.

_"Dude,"_ Beast Boy breathed.

"You mean…?" Cyborg's voice trailed off.

I watched as Raven's eyes glanced briefly over to Starfire. "So that's how your parents died," she concluded, her voice not wavering.

Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at her in shock. They hadn't even been aware of that. But she knew. We shared a bond, but right then, I wished I could have shattered it, like I did to Starfire's and mine.

_Star._

I didn't think I could look at her. But I did anyway. The back of her head was facing me, her long crimson hair look disheveled. I heard her try to conceal a sniff, but I heard. Her mustard bottle had fallen from her grasp and had made a stain on the carpet.

"So that's where Star got those bruises," Beast Boy wondered out loud, glancing at her in horror.

At the mention of her name she stood up abruptly, making sure her back was to me at all times. She bolted from the room, her feet making thuds on the floor. We all stared after her for a moment, and then looked at one another. Raven gave me this look that said what had been on my mind for days. I really am a monster. I'm no better than Slade himself.

I looked at the carpet, then up at them again. They seemed to be waiting for an explanation. And this time…I gave it to them.

I told them everything…well…_almost _everything. I left out my name and the fight me and Star had gotten into, and the whole disturbed acted out kiss between her and Slade under the mistletoe. But other than that, I told it like it was.

We had gone to Gotham, because Batman had requested it. Star had gone undercover and we met a man named Stanley Wilson. We had gotten to know him, and then one night Star had gone to his house, searching for a bank account number that he had had in his possession the whole time. Batman and I had arrived shortly after, and Slade had almost beaten her to death. She had retrieved the code, but before we could arrest Slade he took off with this amulet. I had never seen it before, but it had given him the power to teleport. If it could do that, then who knows what else it could do? We never saw Slade Wilson again after that, but I had found out that he had two boys and a little girl.

Slade Wilson had helped kill my parents. He did some of Tony Zucco's dirty work, and in return he had taken some off the money they had earned from our circus. The money was returned, but right then, that was the least of my worries. He had killed two of people who were closest to my heart, and he was about to take the life of the third. Of course, that I hadn't told them.

When I was done, I left the room without another world and retreated to my own chamber. I thought about visiting Starfire to check to see how she was faring but I decided that my presence would only make it worse. It usually did when it came to her lately.

As I lay down on my bed I stared at the ceiling. The white color of the walls soothed me, and I peeled off my mask to get a better look. I rarely had my mask off these days. I think it proved as some sort of barrier, which made sense because apparently I was always distant. Not that that was a shock. I just stared at the ceiling and thought about things that I've neglected to think about.

First…that amulet.

What did it do? What was Slade planning? Whatever it was, he hadn't proved much of a threat when Bruce and I had arrived. But then again, maybe that was because he had used his energy hurting Starfire. My hands clenched into fists at the thought. I forced myself to relax.

Second, I had almost killed Slade.

I don't think I've ever been that angry before, but in that moment, I had forgotten all of the oaths I had taken, all of the morals I had. I had almost killed a man, even if it was Slade. And if I had, then I really wouldn't be any better than him. Sometimes, when I'm really frustrated, it helps to think of my hands clenched around his throat, his eye rolling to the back of his head. The pathetic chocking sounds he made…but then I have to remember Bruce's voice as he talked to me, reminded me of what I was doing. Reminding me that as I wasted time with _him,_ Starfire was dying.

Third, Starfire had said she had loved me.

I knew we cared about each other strongly, I just never realized how deep those feelings ran. The day she told me that was another day that I had been angry. I was angry that she would betray me like that, going into my mind, witnessing my most private memories. She had said that at first it was intentional, but after a while she couldn't control it. I think I believed her, but I was blinded by my fury so I couldn't really tell. All I knew what that I had had to get out of there, before I exploded.

In a way, I already had. I had destroyed the Christmas present she gave me like I was five. I'm sure Bruce would have thought that was real mature. I had screamed and yelled at her, and she was crying, and begging, and I had even thought about hitting her…

I had pushed her aside roughly, grabbed her, and shoved her away from me. It was like that day in the pouring rain, when I had screamed at her when she couldn't see Slade. She had cried then too, although she had tried to hide it from me.

Then she fell down to her knees and told me she loved me. I think it took all of my will power not to scream the same thing back and toss her onto the bed and just kiss her over and over again.

At one point I was so angry I thought I might tell her I hated her. But how could I, when the opposite was true?

As I stared at the ceiling a sickening thought entered my mind.

What if she didn't love me anymore?

I guess, in the end I couldn't blame her, I mean after the way I treated her, I wouldn't love me either…wait, that came out wrong.

I groaned, bringing my pillow up from behind my head to smack my face again and again and again. Flipping around, I buried my face in my pillow. The only hope I really had that she still loved me was the candy heart. The candy heart that I had crushed to pieces…._intentionally._

_Damn,_ I was a fool.

~0~0~0~

When I opened my eyes again I was on Tamaran.

I knew this because I was in an endless desert of orange, and there was nothing to see but pink sky. The stars twinkled up above, and I wondered how I had gotten here. Maybe Cyborg had shipped me off when I was sleeping, or Raven had sent me through a portal. It seemed like something they would do, and it's not like I didn't deserve it.

I wandered around aimlessly for a while, not really sure where I was going, or if it even mattered anymore. I lost track of time, and then I remembered that I didn't have a clock anyway so it's not like I was ever really keeping track. I was beginning to get rather tired when I saw the unmistakable form of a palace, the Tamaranian Palace.

It was just like how I had remembered. There was an enormous walkway, although it seemed much easier to climb than last time. With one leap and one extraordinary bound I was sailing up the side of the palace, like I could fly or something. I flipped over the edge of the balcony and peered inside a room. This had to be her room, it seemed so familiar. But it was empty.

Feeling utterly disappointed I made myself content by placing my hands on the thick stone railing of the balcony and watching the desert and stars. If I remembered correctly, Galfore had spoken of war when we had last been here. I wondered what this place looked like before it had wreaked havoc here.

I was distracted when I heard the unmistakable sound of a Starfire giggle. I whipped around, anxious to see her but she was nowhere to be seen. I frowned in frustration. Maybe I wanted to see her a little _too_ much and my mind was pulling tricks on my. I turned my attention back to the desert and continued to watch my surroundings. There was something oddly peaceful about this place, it relaxed my entire being. I had seen Starfire journey out here when she was troubled about her wedding to that slug. Perhaps she thought this place was a good way to settle the mind. It was certainly working on me.

My thoughts became unnaturally foggy as a soft hand brushed me forearm. I didn't turn like last time because I was afraid she would disappear again. My eyes closed automatically, waiting for her say something. Or do something else, that wouldn't be unwanted.

She giggled again and I sighed. I felt a hand knot itself in my hair. She always gave the best head massages, I was like putty in her hand when she touched me there, and the funny thing was, she knew it too. She smelt really good. Like orange blossom and amber, just like always. But I knew that if I kissed her I would taste strawberries. Unfortunately I've only been able to taste them a few times.

Goosebumps tingled along my skin as her hands ran up and down my arms, her giggling sounding like some sort of angel. I'm not saying I know much about this, but I'm fairly certain that this is what heaven is like.

But that was enough. I needed to talk to her about everything. We could focus on Slade, or the _orthax_ and then focus on us. It was clearly the most logical option. However it was like she sensed that I was about to open my mouth because my thoughts became filled with a fog like no other when she began to kiss my neck.

I thought she was supposed to be innocent, and here she was seducing me.

Ah, what the hell.

She giggled fiercely as I spun around, wrapping my arms around her. She pretended to pout which I thought was absolutely adorable. She threaded her arms around my neck for a moment and then pressed her lips against mine.

_Oh, yes,_ and then there was the taste of those strawberries. And here I was concerned about some stupid mission. That was so like me.

Her finger was tracing little pattern on my thigh. She was teasing me that little sneak! Not that I minded. I chuckled against her mouth and her lips moved more against mine. Wasn't kissing supposed to be a new thing to her? Well, she was always a fast learner.

Wow, look at that, we were on the ground now. Why couldn't I focus for a second?

She pulled away from my mouth after a while so I could catch my breath. To my surprise she wasn't breathing heavily at all. Her eyes glowed with a new kind of warmth, and I was glad that I was the one who made her look like that. Her fingers peeled back my mask to reveal my eyes.

_Beautiful,_ she whispered, in an echoing voice that filled my ears. I'm guessing that's when most of my brain cells died.

Then she was on me again and she was giggling, and smiling, and running her fingers all over me, and shifting her hips, and-

_What. The. Hell._

I was lying on my stupid bed again, in the same position I was in before. It couldn't have been a dream, it just couldn't have. That was kind of an annoying realization actually. No, not annoying…_frustrating._ Ugh, gross. Wait…was I…sweating?

That's when I glanced downwards and swore.

~0~0~0~

_Okaaay,_ after an extremely cold shower later, I checked the clock in my room and noticed that it was already eight in the morning. I dressed and slicked my hair with gel before marching into the kitchen to ease my already grumbling stomach. I really wasn't in the mood to put up for anything that day, so I suppose it was a good thing when the other Titans didn't bring what I told them yesterday up. It was like they could sense what my reaction would be if they did, not that that was a difficult thing to guess.

_Except something was wrong. Starfire was missing again. _

_When I realized this I groaned softly, running my fingers tiredly through my hair for what seemed like the thousandth time. Please don't let her be avoiding me. Please don't let her be crying off somewhere. It would be all my fault as usual, and I never did know what to do when girls cried._

_"Have you guys seen Star?" I asked, trying not to sound too anxious._

_Cyborg and Beast Boy shrugged, but Raven answered, not even glancing up from her reading. "She's on the roof."_

_"Right," I replied, tugging at my collar, which, at the moment, was choking me to death. "Thanks."_

_It crossed my mind that they would probably talk about me once I had left the room, but at the moment I didn't mind as much as I would have. Starfire was my main concern now._

_I made my way up the stairs to the roof, thinking of the tons of things I should probably tell her. Was she expecting me to tell her I loved her? Did she even know? In my opinion it was kind of obvious, then again she had caught me off guard when she had confessed. _

_Just when I figured out what I was going to say, I was there. However all of the words I had previously thought of had vanished when I glimpsed her graceful form falling over the edge of the tower._

_**Author's Note:**_

_Note to self, this is not suicide, I just want to make that clear. That's dark, especially for Starfire. I wouldn't have her do that._


	4. Unstable

Right then and there was when my breath caught so I couldn't breathe.

"Starfire!" I shouted, but I was sure she couldn't here me anyway. In one swift motion I pulled out my grappling hooks and launched after her.

The one I shot upward caught on the edge of the roof, providing an anchor. I glanced down at her falling form. What had happened to her? She seemed so limp, so lifeless. Had Slade come? Had he tried to kill her again? The very thought filled me with rage. I shot the second grappling hook downwards, but before it could wrap around her waist, she jerked away from it, twisting in the air and flew back up to the roof. She hadn't even noticed me.

"Starfire!" I called again, louder, as I stopped falling.

"Robin?" she asked, bewildered as she peered over the edge.

I waved to her and flew down to my level again. Her expression was completely surprised as if I was the craziest thing she had ever seen. Well _I_ wasn't the one launching myself off of roofs.

"Uh…a little help?" I asked sheepishly, the wind starting to twist my body around. I could tell she was trying to suppress a giggle and my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Once she had safely placed me back on top of the tower, I wound up my weapons and stored them in my belt again. She watched me, the confused expression still on her face. I glanced up at her in disbelief.

"What were you doing?" I snapped, perhaps a little too harshly.

She didn't seem alarmed by my reaction. She pretended to examine her fingernails. "I was practicing," she responded, nonchalantly.

"For?" I demanded, my voice still dripping with anger.

She shrugged a gesture in which she rarely does. "For the purpose of battle, to improve my skills. I was merely practicing how to catch myself mid-fall. I have noticed recently that my flying had become the jerky, so I would wish to improve upon that. After all, I cannot always have you there to catch me. Surely you know this."

My anger faded. "What?"

She raised her eyebrows in confusion. "In battle, you will not always be by my side you know. It is also rather embarrassing how often you have been catching me. I should have to rely on my own abilities on occasion."

"It isn't embarrassing," I insisted. "And I like when I catch you."

She stared at me, her eyebrows shooting up close to her hairline.

I scratched my head and smiled sheepishly. "Uh, that came out wrong."

She nodded then looked away. "Yes," she responded softly, "It always seems to."

Wow that hurt. Did she even know what she was saying?

"Look Star-"

She turned back to me, her face utterly unreadable. "Robin, if you excuse me, I must continue my practicing. Practicing makes the perfect, yes?"

She flew to the edge of the roof once more, preparing to drop again, I assumed. "Wait!" I called, causing her to halt her actions. I ran up to her, grabbing her wrist as if I was afraid that she would disobey me and continue her "practicing" anyway.

When I didn't continue for several seconds she pulled her wrist away, placing her hands both on her hips. Maybe I was just naturally bad tempered but this annoyed stance made me boil with frustration. "Yes?"

"This is pointless. You shouldn't be putting yourself in danger like this. There are other ways to improve your flight you know."

"Such as?"

My mouth slid to the side in concentration. "Well…I'm sure I can think of something?" I shrugged lamely.

She rolled her eyes, another gesture that was odd for her. What had she turned into? Where was the good natured Starfire that I knew and…liked.

"Yes, well, let me know when you have thought of it," she continued, turning away from me.

"Why won't you talk to me?" I hissed.

She paused again, looking completely unsure of herself. She clasped her hands together and studied her shoes before glancing up at the morning sun. "I will talk to you," she murmured, biting her lip at my tone.

And I did it again. I went too far like I usually do. And, like always, the people around me suffer because of it. "Sorry, I…" I trailed off, really unsure of what to say. I felt like I was in one of those soap operas that Star sometimes watches.

She didn't answer, at first, but I'm pretty sure I heard her sigh. Then in one swift motion she flipped to face me. It was so sudden I flinched, and the corners of her mouth twitched upwards slightly in the formation of a smile. "What do you wish to converse about, friend?"

I almost flinched again at that last word, but luckily I was a master of concealing my emotions. "Where have you been going these past few days?"

Her smile grew bigger. "Silly, Robin. I cannot tell you that."

"Why not?" I questioned, slightly put out.

She ruffled my hair, and it reminded me of the days when Batgirl used to do that. Not that I really wished to remember those days. "It is a secret," she told me.

"You can't keep secrets from your team leader," I joked, grinning.

She giggled. "Perhaps I will show you some day," she proceeded, tapping her finger to her chin. Her face suddenly lit up. "Oh, I know when!"

"When?" I pressed, my interest thoroughly peeked now.

"Nuh-uh," she scolded, waggling her finger at me. "I cannot tell you. You will just have to wait and see."

I folded my arms and pretended to pout. She giggled again, and I was rather pleased at that. She shook her head at me, and the old Starfire was back again, to my relief. She poked me in the ribs and flew down the steps to the roof. I followed her eagerly. She stopped in the hallway suddenly, as if something had just occurred to her.

"Oh," she said again, thoughtful. "I recall you requesting me for knowledge about the _orthax,_ yes?"

I nodded; the thought had completely escaped my mind. "It doesn't have to right now though, unless you want to," I added hastily.

She smiled calmly. "Perhaps after the breaking of the fasts?"

I nodded again. "Sounds good."

When we entered the common room, the kitchen was a complete and utter disaster. Raw splashes of meet and the ugly color of what could only be tofu littered the ground and smeared all over the cabinets and cooking utensils. A brownish red goo dripped from the ceiling and the smell of grease and fake meat was intoxicating.

Great, just what I need, a meat vs. tofu battle.

Sure enough Cyborg and Beast Boy were arguing as usual, while Raven watched safely in the corner, her nose scrunched up.

"_Now_ look what you did!" BB complained, gesturing to the mess.

"What _I_ did?! This is all because of that stupid tofu waffle recipe!" Cy fired back.

Star and I glanced at Raven and she just shook her head at us. I sighed scratching my head, and wondering who was going to half to clean this mess up later.

"Why don't we just order pizza again?" I suggested tiredly.

The two fools rounded on me and opened their mouths as if they were about to argue. I let the thought sink into their obnoxious minds and when they took in the idea they both nodded eagerly, their battle forgotten…for the moment.

Sure enough it started up again when we discussed pizza toppings, despite my words of advice and Raven's annoyed remarks. Starfire was strangely quiet, but not in a bad way. She watched the bickering in interest which was kind of strange considering this happened daily. I noticed more than once how her fingers brushed over the ring I had given her for a last year's Christmas present. I was pleased to see that she still wore it; even after all of the trouble I'd given her.

Eventually we ordered our usual-honestly, I don't know why they have to fight about the obvious-and the Beast Boy ran down to collect the pizza. He returned shortly after and we all began devouring the mysteriously, and incredibly delicious crunchiness that was Troy's pizza.

When I had finished I wiped the grease off of my face with the back of my hand. Surveying my team, I cleared my throat once to grab their attention. I was going to apologize for how I had acted yesterday, it was wrong of me after all.

However before I could ever say one word the alarm ran. I sprinted to the monitor before anyone else could, my eyes scanning the screen frantically. I deactivated the alarm and exhaled noisily from my nose. I couldn't believe it. It was almost too good to be true.

"It's the _orthax._"

~0~0~0~

It was strange. Not the _orthax_ but the way the others reacted.

Raven was having an immensely hard time trying to concentrate. Her powers would randomly flare and then die away without her consent. I instructed her to not attack, just defend us, in case she couldn't control herself. She grimly agreed.

Beast Boy wouldn't change into the right animals that he wanted. He had told me this, and I was shocked that his powers had seemed to disobey him as well. He could still be of assistance maybe, but I really didn't see how.

Starfire couldn't fly. This really confused me. She insisted she was emotionally stable, but even while she was perfectly happy, she could not summon the power to float. Thankfully her starbolts still seemed to obey her will, but she had to ride on the back of the R-Cycle. She could have course taken Cyborg's car, but if her powers were acting funny, then I wanted to keep an eye on her.

Nothing seemed to be particularly wrong with Cyborg, however he kept making these strange beeping noises, and every once in a while he would complain to me about his joints being stiff. Although he seemed to be the most stable besides myself, I feared that he would just shut off all together mid-battle.

My crime scanners led us to a place just outside the city. Pine trees surrounded a small clearing, which is where the Tamaranian beast stood. I was regretful that we hadn't had enough time to learn about this creature more. We would just have to surround it and take it down as best as we could.

It didn't seem to notice us at first. It was knocking down large pine trees and making this awful howling noise which made me wince. It shook its massive pink head from side to side, banging it against trunks of trees. If it wasn't careful it could seriously cause some damage, not that it would be careful anyway.

"Titans Go!" I shouted, however I felt a little less confident as usual, on account of the current condition of my team.

I leapt off the R-Cycle, and Starfire followed me behind a rock as the beast turned around. Cyborg nodded to us and started blasting the thing with his sonic cannon, buying us some time.

"Star, does this thing have some sort of power that could affect your flying?" I asked urgently, peering over the side of the boulder we crouched behind.

"No, I am certain that whatever had affected my flight, as well as our friends, had nothing to do with the _orthax,"_ she insisted.

I nodded, my eyes narrowing. "Well then, we'll have to figure that out later. Are your starbolts still available?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Alright, shoot above its head to make a distraction; I'll catch it by surprise."

She nodded engulfing her hands in green energy. She shot several of her bolts above the creature's form, just as it tossed Cyborg against a clump of trees. It was about to charge for him too when it grew distracted from the flickering lights above. I flicked my head to make sure Beast Boy and Raven were a safe distance away before I charged at it, tossing several smoke bombs into its face.

The _orthax_ reared back growling in annoyance. It shook its head from side to side urgently, trying desperately to clear the smoke from its brightly colored eyes. Before it could recover fully I launched a bird-a-rang at it, slightly pleased when once stuck in its eye.

Suddenly-and I thought I had seen it all with this thing-its eye exploded, sending my own weapon to the ground. I watched in absolute disgust as the eye reformed from the puddles of acid on the ground. That was just wrong.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

I was surrounded by a shield of black energy, and it was a good thing too, because a moment later the beast rammed its head into it. I tossed Raven a look of thanks before I turned to Beast Boy. I gave him a questioning look and he tried to give me the thumbs up, however he kept turning from his human form into various animals. He was clearly not in control, and it would be better if he just stayed out of this.

Before I could glance back to see if Cyborg had recovered, the black wall dissipated and I knew Raven had lost control as well. The wind was then abruptly knocked out of me as the _orthax_ headed me, sending my body into a clump of nettles. I was relieved when I realized that I was mostly uninjured, aside from a small cut on my elbow. I pulled myself out of the bushes and flipped out of the way as the alien monster charged at me once more. I could tell this time that it was prepare to inject me with its poison, so I was grateful when a barrage of starbolts captured its attention once more.

As Star battled the monster from her planet, Cyborg pulled me to the side, a strained look on his face.

"Robin, man, I don't know what's happening," he whined, a worried look covered his normally calm features. "My cannon won't work anymore."

"Crap, I was hoping we could use the sonic boom," I muttered, casting nervous glances at it.

Cy shrugged, and then grew calmer. "We'll just have to punch it to pieces then."

"Be careful," I warned, but he was already charging toward it. Starfire fell to the ground a few yards away from me, she seemed rather frazzled, but other than that she was unharmed. I was suddenly concerned for Cyborg. He didn't know the full abilities of this thing, neither did I for that matter. However before he could cause more harm to his already unsteady state, the _orthax_ seeped into the ground once more, leaving only a sticky puddle of bubbling acid in its place.

"No," I growled, hitting the ground with my fist. Although I was glad that we hadn't sustained any serious injuries, the stupid thing had gotten away once again. I didn't know a thing about it, or what it was after, _and_ my team's powers were completely unpredictable. The question was…why?

"Well," Raven said after a while. "Now what?"

I sighed. "We head back to the tower I guess."

Beast Boy shifted from a kangaroo back into his normal form. "Well what am I supposed to do?" he demanded between shifts of animals. "Do just expect me to deal with whatever weirdness is happening like a complete-" he turned into a jackass to prove his point.

I shook my head to clear it. This wasn't making any sense.

"Do not fear Robin," Starfire said, placing a hand on my back. "We will capture the _orthax,_ and find the thing that is affecting our powers so."

I nodded, she was right of course. "Alright, let's go."

~0~0~0~

When we returned home, Raven began meditating immediately. After a moment she came up with a blank look on her face that said it all. She couldn't track it, and she couldn't concentrate either.

Cyborg retired to the gym to work on his muscles, which had become increasingly stiff. He claimed it was nothing, and normally I would have believed him, but given the circumstances, I was having a hard time doing just that.

Beast Boy kept changing into various animals and it got rather annoying, although I knew that he couldn't help it. Raven banished him to his room until further notice and I was glad she had spoken up before I could burden him with my frustrations.

I marched over to the fridge and drained a bottle of water, wiping the liquid from my mouth when I was hydrated. I watched Star as she tried to fly. Her face was screwed up in concentration and she was muttering in Tamaranian. I wasn't sure, but I think she was swearing, and I couldn't blame her. It must be frustrating.

Why had nothing happened to me though? Of course, there was the fact that I didn't have any powers whatsoever, but it still seemed suspicious. Starfire had said that the _orthax_ didn't have any abilities that would affect their powers. It's not that I didn't believe her, but I wondered if perhaps she was mistaken, because there was nothing else that could have affected them so suddenly.

_Slade._

Not sure why he came to mind, after all I hadn't seen him since the night he almost killed Star. I guess it was because I always thought about him these days. It was hard _not_ to think about him.

"Do you mind?" Raven's voice interrupted my thoughts. I glanced up at her.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well between you crinkling that water bottle in frustration and her muttering, you're making it even harder to concentrate, if that's even possible."

"Right, sorry," I mumbled. I walked over to Star and took her hand. "Come on, we have to talk."

She opened her eyes, and her frenzied murmuring relented. She followed me to my room where we could talk in private. I typed in the code to my room and the door slid open and then shut behind us. She stood on her tiptoes like she was trying to float over to my bed, but then she sighed in annoyance and just walked over. I gave her a sympathetic smile, and she returned it before looking away.

"What is it you require?"

"I think you know."

She looked back at me. "I do. I am just unsure of how to say it. There is certainly a long list of the things the _orthax_ is most capable of."

I nodded grimly. "Try your best. You don't have to explain everything today, but be as detailed as possible." Drawing out a pen and notepad and looked expectantly at her. "Besides, we can spend these next few days together. I've missed you."

She smiled at that.

**Author's Note:**

_BEWARE! There will be tons of fluff in the next few chapters! Please review!_


	5. Extraordinary

**Author's Note:**

_I promised fluff, and here it is!_

~0~0~0~

Over the next few weeks I felt…_extraordinary._ And I _never_ use that word.

We hadn't heard from the _orthax_ for quite some time, but for once, I didn't really mind. We were constantly occupied anyway. We still had to battle minor villains like Control Freak and Johnny Rancid, but we could handle them, even with the others in their current state. On top of that, we were still trying out hardest to cram information about the _orthax,_ and making extra patrols to see if we could locate it, since Cyborg and Raven couldn't track it.

On most nights we ordered pizza because we were so busy. Cyborg made us a pot roast once, but because he couldn't really control his actions, it ended up on the floor before we could eat it. He was very upset with himself, even though the rest of us said it was fine. He still ate it though, claiming that beautiful meat such as that could not be soiled. However I think the fact that the floor still smelt of tofu made it even more unappetizing.

At one point I believed that they were getting better. Starfire could summon the energy to fly, although it was still rather jerky, and I would catch her more in battle, much to her dismay. Cyborg could at least transform his arm into a cannon again, although now he was complaining that he was no longer stiff, but that it _hurt_ to move. Raven was having an easier time meditating, at least, that's what she told us. She never said those magic three words of hers anymore, though. I suspected that was because she was afraid to use the full extent of her powers. Beast Boy didn't change randomly anymore, but whenever he wanted to turn into a certain animal, another once would transfigure instead. He wasn't sure which one was more frustrating.

What was I talking about before though?...Oh, yeah, but what surprised them the most was that although we had still failed in capturing the _orthax,_ I was as relaxed as I could possibly be. I had felt…_extraordinary._ And it had nothing to do with our missions.

It was her of course, everything about her. The way she laughed, talked, smiled. Often when she was explaining to me the abilities of the _orthax_ I would space out and half to request that she repeat herself. Surprisingly she didn't seem to mind. She would shake her head at me in the cutest way and when she said my name all I wanted to do was-

STOP. RIGHT. THERE.

I had to focus, had to get my bearings. If I was ever going to catch this thing, _and_ Slade, I would need to get my head in the game. It was almost the end of _March_ for crying out loud. I could _not_ afford distractions…

Yet I still felt as though I was slacking off. I had to remind myself that I already knew a great deal about this monster, thanks to Star, and she was right. The list of its abilities was quite long.

First, it had the ability to explode itself into puddles of acid and then regenerate within seconds. When it did this, the acid was not as powerful, at least not as powerful as its saliva when it's actually intact.

Second, it could use its strange gooey skin to engulf objects if they so happened to touch it. When it did this it could then shoot the object out of any orpheus on its body. This had happened with my weapons.

Third, it had incredible strength. Not quite as strong as a Tamaranian, but enough to take down a small mountain. Not to mention the giant lumbering feet.

Fourth, the fangs were incredibly sharp. They had to be, if they could cut through my cape, and that thing is ten times stronger than steel.

Fifth, it had the power to grow a tail…with spikes. It normally didn't because it took a lot of effort but when it did, I assumed all hell would break loose.

Sixth, the antennae. That was clearly the largest threat about the _orthax._ It was filled with a pinkish red poison that could kill in minutes. Starfire explained how she wasn't sure how quickly the poison would kill humans, but she said if a Tamaranian was to be struck down, it would be approximately ten minutes for the poison to reach the heart. The thought made me shudder. No wonder they called it Bright Poison.

"Normally when a Tamaranian is penetrated with the _orthax's_ antennae, they destroy themselves with their own energy. It is said to be more bearable than to have to suffer to the end, especially since there is no known antidote," Star explained. Despite the horrible things she was saying she seemed perfectly at ease, lying on my bed, and staring at the ceiling, her crimson hair pooling around her.

"What do you mean?" I asked, horrified, my hands clenching around my pen and notepad.

She glanced at me then looked away. "It involves burning skin and hair and…well I will assume you can figure out the rest."

"Yeah…" I trailed off, rocking myself back and forth with my chair subconsciously. I snapped my head up at her. "You wouldn't do that would you?"

She bit her lip. "Not unless I had to, not unless the pain became too unbearable. Although I would not know. I have experience excruciating torture techniques before, and even then it was not enough to-" she cut herself off giving me a frantic look as I stood up from my chair in a heat of fury.

"When?" I snarled.

She stood up also, placing a hand on each shoulder and looking at me in the eyes. "You must calm yourself, Richard," she murmured, and I wasn't sure if she did it by accident or not. "It was a long time ago and I…forgive me, I should explain these things later."

"Or now," I said, a little calmer. I leaned my head forward and it accidently collided with hers. "Ow."

She giggled; a tiny tinkling sound that gave me the goose bumps. We should just get back to work. There was still a lot to cover after all. But then her perfect golden fingers slid up into my hair and I was lost in her emerald eyes. I think I must be like a cat, or she just gives _really_ good head massages. Her slender fingers curled themselves lightly in my black hair and I started to breathe unevenly. And I still wanted us to be friends…

Well that wasn't entirely true…just the opposite actually, but it would be easier to just be friends. But apparently that's not an option. Not when she touches me like this anyway.

The tip of her nose brushed mine and I wondered if she knew what she was doing to me. There were moments when she was being so open with her affection, that it seemed like she was flirting with me intentionally. However I guess it really wasn't flirting, not for Starfire. Especially since she had already told me that she loved me.

So she loved me still then? Because I'm pretty sure friends aren't supposed to cuddle like we do. But we weren't together either. So what were we? Friends with benefits? I didn't really think that I liked the sound of that. It sounded…careless…especially since I actually had feelings for her. She just didn't really know that, because I never spoke up.

Because I'm chicken.

And…yup there it was. Her scent, with the so many flavors, and I fought the urge not to just bury my face in her hair and inhale. Then she pulled away and I was inwardly cursing.

"So," she said, her hands on her hips and her eyes glowing mischievously. But she wasn't flustered like I was. Did I not have the same effect on her as she had on me? "It has occurred to me that your birthday is approaching. Is it not the twenty-first of this month? The first day of the spring?"

"Uh, yeah," I said scratching my head.

"It is an important year, yes? You will be turning seventeen. I believe that is when Earth males transform into men?" she persisted, a smile plastered on her face.

"Well, actually it's eighteen, but yeah, it's kinda important."

She nodded, a little disappointed that she was mistaken, but not much. "Then we shall throw an enormous party with all of our Titan friends, yes?"

I shook my head, raising a hand. "I don't really want that Star, it would be too much noise."

"Are you sure?" she looked slightly disheartened. "Cyborg, Beast Boy and I would be more than happy to arrange everything. We could prepare your favorite meals and-"

"Star, really it's okay," I said smiling. "I don't wanna cause trouble. Besides we-"

"Oh, but it would not be of trouble at all. It would be my pleasure!" Her eyes gleamed so brightly that I melted right then and there.

"Kay," I murmured weakly, a stupid grin appeared on my face.

Then she hugged me, and it was totally worth it. I mean a party is a good thing right? It would ease my mind, and it would be fun for everyone. Also the Titans haven't really gotten together since our battle against the Brotherhood of Evil and that a year and a half ago. It would be nice to see some old friends.

"I shall go tell Cyborg and Beast Boy of the news!" she chirped, pulling away from our embrace.

"You don't have to right away," I protested, tugging on her arm before she could reach my door. "We could go up to the roof and watch the sunset. Or if you don't want to do that we could-"

"Yes, I would love to!" she beamed, and it was hard not to do just that. I took her hand and we walked to the roof of the tower together.

~0~0~0~

It was a nice change of pace. Usually Starfire would float by my side, making her taller, which only made me feel shorter. At least I was semi-close to her height when she walked. Jeez, almost seventeen and I still haven't gotten that damn growth spurt. Just my luck.

"You know, I don't think I'll ever be taller than you," I told her once we were sitting on the roof, the orange rays of the setting sun turning out faces a similar color.

She pursed her lips, and I tried not to have my eyes linger there. "That is not true. Nightwing was taller than I, and I do not believe I will grow much more. Most Tamaranian females are around 5'8."

I nodded, pondering this. "So Nightwing was taller?"

"Mm-hmm. Yes he was quite tall, and quite handsome," she added, blushing slightly.

I beamed at this. "Anything else?"

She cocked her head to the side, thinking. "His muscles were very impressive, and his hair was longer than my own. Other than the black and blue he was clad in, he very much resembled a Tamaranian warrior."

I laughed. "My hair was longer that yours? That's hard to believe. I don't know, I think I need a few more years of this look before I start growing it out."

She smiled. "It was not a bad look."

"Oh, really? Well which do you prefer?" I asked, curious.

"Um, well I suppose I would favor the current spikiness, although I like it most when it is halfway between the Robin and the Richard look."

A wide grin crept across my face. "I'll keep that in mind."

She returned my friendly gesture. "Please do."

And then it was as though she read my mind because her hand extended towards my head again. I leant toward her hand like a puppy or kitten to its owner. I heard her giggle again and I peeked open my eyes, unaware that I had closed them.

"Do all Earth boys act so strange to the massaging of the head?" she inquired, her voice thick with laughter.

I shrugged. "I don't know, all I do know is that you give awesome ones."

She laughed again. "Now that is something that _I_ may keep in mind. When did you discover my special ability?"

It was my turn to laugh, because the way she said it made it sound so ridiculous. "Probably when we were trapped in Mod's school the second time, and you were fixing my hair for that dance," I admitted.

"Really?" she questioned, scooting closer to me so she curl in fingers into my hair more. "That long ago?"

"Yup," I answered chuckling. "Pathetic, huh?"

"I do not think so," she responded, her breath tickling the skin on the back of my neck.

I hadn't really noticed how quickly the sky had darkened. We couldn't have been out there for long, the time felt too quick. However it always felt that way when I was around Starfire.

Her fingers tightened slightly around my hair and I watched her curiously. Her green orbs were the size of the moon as she gazed up above in wonder. I followed her gaze until I came upon what she was looking at. Fireflies.

"You've never seen these before?" I asked her, pulling away so I could stand up. She stood up also, beaming at the swirling clump of lights in amazement.

She shook her head from side to side. "We have something similar on my world, they are known as _fanorbla_ flies, however I assume these do not burn your skin?"

Raising my eyebrows in disbelief I answered her question. "Uh, right."

"May I touch one then?" she inquired, lifting hands up to the squiggling bugs.

"Sure," I told her, reaching her hands up and using my own to curl hers around one of the flies. She brought it closer to her body, and together we eased our hands ever so slightly.

She gasped in delight as the insect flickered its light in her hand and giggled. "It tickles," she murmured, opening her hands completely to allow the firefly to escape. She stared at it in a dreamy sort of way as it rejoined the others.

I smiled. "You know, in a way they're like you."

Starfire swiveled to face me, one eyebrow was raised. "Is that so? I do not believe I see the resemblance." Her question wasn't irritated, she was honestly curious, so I don't know why I blushed.

"Well…um, you know…cuz they fly and they light up…and…oh forget it."

She covered her mouth with her hand to conceal laughter. "I believe you are right," she replied, then frowned. "Although these days I cannot fly very well."

My smile also dropped off my face. I reached over to pat her shoulder and she looked up at me from underneath her lashes. Well now, if that didn't make me lose my train of thought I didn't know what did, so I just continued to pat her shoulder.

She hugged me then, and I made a noise of surprise. "Thank you," she murmured into my neck.

"For what?" I asked, my collar suddenly tight again.

"For everything," she replied.

I probably would've said something along the lines of 'no problem,' or 'sure thing,' but instead I said something else, something much stupider. "Kay."

What can I say? I'm a mess.

"Hey, am I interrupting, or can y'all get your scrawny butts down here for movie night?" Cyborg's voice addressed from the doorway.

We pulled away from each other and I slightly annoyed, and a little satisfied that Star's cheeks were rosier than usual. "Um yeah, we'll be down in a second."

"Alright, whatever you say," Cyborg drawled waggling his eyebrows, before descending down the steps.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Perhaps we should join them now?" Starfire suggested.

I glanced up trying not to sigh. "Yeah…I guess we should."

She nodded, then turned around to get one last look at the fireflies. Her eye grew all glowy from watching them, but it was a nice kind of glowy. "Truly _extraordinary,_" she breathed.

I folded my arms and stared at her, my lips forming that goofy lop-sided grin again. "My thoughts exactly."

**Author's Note:**

_Too much fluff for ya? Or not enough? Well either way there will be plenty more in the next few chapters! As always please review! _


	6. Sweet Seventeen Birthday Bash

Well, one thing was for sure, whatever this party of mine ended up looking like; it was going to be big.

The next few days Starfire hung up decorations, being extremely careful to only incorporate Earth designs. Beast Boy started to work on a gigantic cake with all of my favorite flavors, as well as the other foods at the party. Cyborg watched him warily; casting him disapproving looks when he realized some of the culinary products included tofu. However he had made Beast Boy include some meat dishes as well. Cyborg himself was to focus on the music and gaming systems for the party, in case some of the guys wanted to have a gaming marathon. Even Raven helped a little by moving the furniture, and by correcting Star if she put up something that wasn't normal.

Despite my protests, they all insisted that I shouldn't help with the preparation for my birthday. It was totally ridiculous if they asked me, but of course they didn't. So I just sulked in the background, sneaking away to my room on occasion to catch up on the case with the _orthax._ We hadn't heard of it for several days, which was both good and bad. Secretly, I hoped it would appear on my birthday, when we had all the Titans over. Surely that thing would be no match against all of us together.

"Rob, looks like you got mail, man," Cyborg called, plopping a package in front of me one morning. I looked at him curiously but he just shrugged, indicating he had nothing to do with it. I sighed when I looked at the address label. It was from Gotham. Alfred had sent something I was sure.

However I perked up when I realized he had sent a box of his delicious and unique raspberry filled pies. I shook my head with a smile. Alfred never did disappoint.

My smile soon vanished and was replaced by a look of confusion when I noticed a small note at the bottom of the package. I would have assumed it was from Alfred also, but he had already sent me a Happy Birthday card. I opened the note carefully, looking around to make sure the others weren't watching before I pulled out a slip of paper.

_Dear Dick,_

_ I wanted to thank you for your assistance last Christmas. I'm currently working on finding him, and I will not rest until he is caught. Thank her for me as well. But above all, remember that this case isn't everything. Whatever has been done is done, you can't let it rule your life. Keep her close; she might just keep you sane enough so you won't end up like me._

_ Happy Birthday, I hope you are well,_

_ -Bruce_

I was experiencing several contrasting emotions after I read his note.

First I was angry.

Who did he think he was, telling me to stay out of _my_ mission! _My _ responsibility! And when he referred to Starfire he didn't even have the courtesy to say her actual name. He probably forget it already. She was probably just another piece in his own selfish game.

Then I became sad.

Did he really not want me to be like him?...Not that I would _want_ to…I _don't._ I'm my own person, my own hero. I don't need to compare myself to someone else, especially someone like him.

After those emotions had settled I just became confused.

Why had he even bothered sending the letter? Did he think it would change my mind about the case? About everything that had happened in general? Well, if those were his reasons, it was pointless to send the letter. In fact, that little piece of paper just gave me an even bigger reason as to why I had to do this myself.

Finally, I was feeling strangely…touched.

He had remembered my birthday. He had actually _taken the time_ to sit down and right me a letter, which I knew must have been uneasy for him. And he was actually thankful. I had come to Gotham because Starfire was needed, an in a way I was glad that I had come. I know it sounds like I'm a jerk because she got hurt, but we had learned from our mistakes. We shouldn't have split up like that…even though technically it was all my fault.

He was still working on the case. It wasn't his case to solve, but he was working on it anyway. Was it for his own selfish reasons, or did he truly care? I guess it could have gone either way, but I had to remember that Bruce had lost his own parents. He knew what I had gone through, what I was still going through. Maybe that was the reason for all of this. Because he actually understood.

I tucked the letter back into the packaging and took the box to my room after placing the pie on the counter. Knowing Cyborg and Beast Boy, it would probably be almost gone by the time I came back, but that really wasn't my concern at the moment. My door slide shut behind me as I placed the package on my bed. I stared at it a moment longer before I couldn't anymore. Didn't want to get all emotional, cuz that just doesn't happen when you're me.

Sure enough the two fools were stuffing their faces with pie when I came back to ops. They froze when I appeared in the doorway, and I just crossed my arms and raised my eyebrows. They laughed sheepishly and backed away from the plate. Rolling my eyes I lazily grabbed a fork and began eating my birthday pie. It took all of my strength to not just toss the utensil aside and use just use my hands. I mean come _on_, what did Alfred put in these anyway?

"Want some Raven?" I asked her from where she was by the monitors, her face buried in a book, her hands glowing with black magic as she moved the sofa to a corner.

"No, I don't really have much of an appetite after watching _them_ eat," she responded, nodding to Cyborg and Beast Boy.

They cast her hurtful glances, but it was hard to argue considering they both still had raspberry all over their faces. I smirked, stuffing another mouthful in. "How 'bout you, Star?" I asked, trying to swallow the wad of pie that had just clogged my throat with its flaky sweetness.

She appeared hesitant as she flew to my side. She had gotten much better with her flight in the past few days, and I couldn't help wondering if it was because she was spending more time with me. That wasn't too cocky right? Right?

"What flavor of the pie is this?" she inquired, scooping up a drop of raspberry with her index finger.

"Raspberry," I replied grinning, the action making my cheeks puff up to enormous sizes.

She laughed at my expression before sucking off the sweetness on her finger. Her eyes grew huge and her mouth watered slightly. "Glorious," she whispered.

I laughed out loud. "You can say that again."

She cocked her head to the side. "Glorious?" she questioned.

My laughter increased. "Oh, sorry, I meant I agree with you."

"Oh yes of course," she nodded her head in understanding. "May I have more?"

"Yeah, go ahead," I said, feeding her a mouthful of pie with my own fork without really even thinking about it. She seemed mildly surprised, but that facial expression was completely taken over by one of pure bliss.

"Alfred's secret," I whispered to her.

A warm smile spread across her face. "He never does do the disappointing, yes?"

"You can say that again."

She smiled mischievously, as she repeated herself anyway.

~0~0~0~

"Robin! Emergency in the ops room! We need you down hear PRONTO!" Beast Boy's voice ran out over the speakers.

I winced. It was only eight in the morning for crying out loud! Besides, this was the only time I had ever really slept in. Didn't I deserve it? Nevertheless I dressed myself quickly, already flying towards the ops room. Whatever had happened, it had better be good.

"What?!" I demanded, my voice taking on that authoritive leader tone. "What is it? What's the emergency?"

The lights were all off, not that that did anything considering it was already daytime. However as soon as I had entered the room they flickered on with an unusual brightness, making me squint.

"SURPRISE!" my friends yelled joyously. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I smirked, trying not to laugh. What I saw in front of me was quite a scene.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were holding out a tremendous platter of ham and eggs. Beast Boy looked like he was using all his strength not to just drop the food in disgust. Raven stood next to them on the right, smirking slightly, a party hat hanging on the side of her head, a noisemaker blowing unenthusiastically from her mouth. I appreciated the effort of happiness on her part. Starfire was clutching a pillow with that smelly Tamaranian meat crown on it. I would probably have to wear it later. However she dropped it to the ground once I entered, encircling me in her arms for that birthday death grip hug while wishing me a happy day of the birth. Before I could even think of hugging her back, she was gone, grabbing a series of utensils that I probably wouldn't even need.

"Wow, guys," I said, with a look of awe on my face. "Thanks, really."

"Don't mention it man," Cyborg said, "Now wipe that blush off your face and get over here so we can take a picture."

I was in such a good mood I didn't even glare at him for that last comment.

After we had taken a group picture, I began devouring my awesome birthday feast. I bet Cyborg cooked it all since the girls didn't really know how to cook Earthen foods and Beast Boy would never dream of making a meal of meat. As I finished wiping the left over yoke off my chin I glanced up at Raven who had cleared her throat.

"So…seventeen huh?" she said after a while.

I grinned. "Yup, I'm getting old."

"But I do not see any signs of the wrinkles," Starfire commented, surveying my face at a particularly close range.

I went red. "That's good then."

Pretty sure I saw Raven roll her eyes from my peripheral vision. A sharp elbow nudged my side and I turned to the left in annoyance. Beast Boy's eager face was practically pressed up against mine, closer than Star's had been. Now _that_ was something I minded. I pushed him back lightly, but that didn't seem to alter his mood in the slightest.

"So…are you excited for the totally awesome Sweet Seventeen Birthday Bash of the century?!" he exclaimed, clearly getting worked up himself.

"Uh…sure," I said lightly, shrugging.

"Cuz we've got tons of hot girls coming," Cyborg mentioned, waggling his eyebrows.

Starfire narrowed her eyes slightly in confusion. "If I am not mistaken friend Cyborg, I believe Argent and I are the only two who can produce heat energy, unless you perhaps count Bumblebee's stings or Jinx's magic as hot in temperature."

Cyborg's expression turned from mischievous to uncomfortable in one second. I laughed out loud. Let him have fun explaining this one to her.

~0~0~0~

By eight o'clock that night the ops room was flooded with all of the Titans from the Brotherhood of evil battle. Everyone wished me a Happy Birthday and placed their presents in a pile by the TV. Everyone then began to converse with one another, the gossiping already beginning I was sure.

Cyborg turned on some music, not too loudly, just the right volume so we could all still hear each other. I started catching up with Kid Flash, who was telling my all sorts of stories from his visits to the Justice League. He made a few jokes about Batman that I found less than funny, so it was a good thing he led me to a larger group of guys afterwards.

Aqualad, Speedy, Beast Boy, Hotspot, and Cyborg were talking about a gaming marathon that they were probably going to start up soon when they notice me and Flash.

"Happy Birthday, squirt," Speedy said casually, and I rolled my eyes and smirked at him.

"So seventeen huh, did the Bats get you anything special?" Aqualad inquired.

"Not that I've heard of," I replied calmly, trying not to show how uncomfortable I was talking about him. Thankfully Aqualad seemed to pick up on my mood so he changed the subject.

"Hey Hotspot, I heard you and Argent are going steady now."

Hotspot nodded sheepishly as Cyborg clapped him on the back and Beast Boy exclaimed, "Really?! DUDE! That's _awesome!"_

Hotspot shrugged. "Yeah, well it's really know big deal. Everybody in the Titan industries hooking up. Flash and Jinx for example."

Kid Flash snorted. "Yeah, that's no secret, not like Jericho and Kole anyway."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. The others in the group had similar reactions.

"No way!" Cyborg complained. "How'd that little shrimp get a girlfriend before me?"

"I can name a few reasons," I teased.

Cyborg pretended to laugh. "Yeah, you should talk Boy Blunder."

"Yeah, what's up with you and Star anyway? Are you guys like friends with benefits or…?" Speedy asked, his eyebrows raised mischievously.

"No, it's nothing like that," I snapped.

"Ouch, look like a struck a nerve there."

I was about to fire something else back until Aqualad piped in. "Is Raven seeing anyone?"

We stared at him for a moment.

"She's not available," Beast Boy said a little too quickly.

"Uh…what?"

BB shrank back a little, realizing he had said his last comment out loud. "Uh…I mean…she'll say no. She isn't the dating type."

"And you know this because…?" Kid Flash prompted, smirking.

"Uh…" Beast Boy looked around the room as if doing so would somehow help him find an answer. "Uh….Hey Cyborg, did ya hear how Bumblebee probably likes Herald?"

"What?!" Cyborg bellowed, making several people in the room turn around to stare. He smiled sheepishly at them until they turned around again. "Dude are you serious?"

He nodded while Hotspot piped in. "I heard that too actually, you should hurry up bro, before she's taken."

Cyborg nodded although his eyes were focused somewhere else. "I'll be right back," he muttered, slinking away from the group.

It was silent for a few more moments. Then Speedy just had to go and ruin it. "So…back to you and Starfire-"

Before he could finish his sentence-and that was probably good thing-Cyborg had cranked up the music, melodies blasting from the enormous speakers placed on either side of the television. It was amazing that it hadn't cracked yet.

"Well this has been fun, but I'm gonna go find my woman," Kid Flash said, giving us a wink, before wishing me a Happy Birthday again, and then he was off.

"Yeah, same, see you guys around," Hotspot waved, before leaving the group as well.

"Think Raven might wanna dance?" Aqualad asked no one in particular and then bounded off before we could answer, Beast Boy trailing after him. That left just me and Speedy.

"So as I was saying, are you _sure-_"

"Robin!" Starfire's voice rang in my ears like wind chimes as she floated up to us. "Would you care to do the dancing with me?"

I scratched my head. "I don't know Star, I don't really dance."

She frowned. "But you did so when we defeated the Kitten, surely you are most able to-"

"If he doesn't want to, I will Star," Speedy said holding out his hand with a smile.

Suddenly the memory of Starfire and Speedy dancing in Mad Mod's school came to mind and I knew what I had to do to keep my sanity. "No that's okay, I will," I said abruptly, stepping between them and taking her hand.

Cyborg, damn his soul, probably saw me lead her onto the dance floor because he switched the party music to a slow song. Couples around the room started to join us on the floor so at least we weren't the only ones.

Starfire gingerly placed her hands on my forearms. She probably didn't realize that she didn't have to dance the same awkward distance apart as we had last time. However before I could actually tell her this myself, she caught a glimpse of Hotspot and Argent a little ways away from us and copied their positioning. I also assumed she didn't know that was how couples danced, but I suppose I didn't have to tell her. That would have disappointed her.

So she casually looped her arms around my neck and I in turn place both my hands on her hips. We started to spin in circles to the music. Okay…okay…this wasn't so bad. It was actually kind of…nice. Although how could I expect it not to be?

Our dancing little circles became tinier and tinier until we just started swaying back and forth in place.

"I hope you are having the Happy Birthday, Robin," Star said softly.

I grinned at that, leaning my forehead against hers. "Yeah, I am actually."

We stood like that for a moment until I decided something I never thought that I would try again. I started to lean in.

And then the stupid song ended and Cyborg was trying to get everyone ready for me to open my presents. I pulled away from her, the moment lost. I was actually quite ticked off at that point.

"Hey, hey Rob, check this out, the guys and I all chipped in to get you this!" Cyborg exclaimed, with dramatic hand movements.

Beast Boy activated some sort of spotlight that I didn't even know we had. I followed its light until it landed on the R-Cycle, however this wasn't _my_ R-Cycle. It was totally new, and totally upgraded and it was honestly the sickest thing I had ever seen.

"You can thank us now," Flash smirked.

And I did, but no matter how extremely excited and pumped up I was to ride this baby, I couldn't help wondering why they couldn't have waited an extra few seconds to show me it.

**Author's Note:**

_I know, not TONS of fluff. BUT THERE WILL BE MORE! BELIEVE IT! :) _


	7. Memories of Tamaran

**Author's Note:**

_ I've decided that I'm going to update my drabbles: Ah, Young Love, because I have thought of some other humorous one-shots, so keep an eye out for those!_

~0~0~0~

I'm honestly glad that the festivities died down at around eleven o'clock. I was tired from all that video game playing and the enormous portion of cake I was forced to ingest. Not to mention all my boy blundering.

As soon as my head hit the pillow that night I fell into a deep slumber.

The next morning I awoke with a slight headache, but nevertheless a good attitude. And hey, I was seventeen after all. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, stretched, showered, dressed, gelled, and all of that good stuff. I started making my way down to the training room where I could have a good workout before breakfast.

Maybe it was my good mood or maybe I had just gotten better because each punch, kick, and jab felt ten times easier than normal. When I was finished I grabbed a towel from my gym locker to wipe the perspiration off my forehead. Then I decided to just take another shower, and the cycle repeated.

The common was empty except for Raven who was drinking her usual morning tea. We greeted each other, before I went over to the fridge and found myself a sports drink. I drank until every last drop was gone, and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I checked the monitors as usual, and as usual they were clear of all trouble. But surprisingly, I didn't mind as much as I thought I would. We would catch them eventually, was a little waiting period such a bad thing? It only gave us time to prepare didn't it?

I had instructed my team not to inform the other Titans that they're powers were a little less than stable and hopefully that had all followed those orders. However I don't suppose it would have done any harm anymore. Everyone seemed to be slowly regaining control of their special abilities which was reassuring. Cyborg had promised to make us all a giant feast-with tofu for Beast Boy-to celebrate sometime soon.

Then the alarm started to blare. I whipped around, checking the monitors again, and groaned when I noticed it was Dr. Light. Seriously, this must have been about his third attack this month.

I heard the clatter of porcelain and assumed that Raven had clanged her mug against something in surprise. "Who is it?" she asked, turning to me.

"Dr. Light," I responded grimly.

She rolled her eyes. "This is going to be fun," she said sarcastically.

~0~0~0~

As soon as we had roused the other Titans from their slumber we made our way to the center of the city. Sure enough Dr. Light was there drawing light from any electrical appliances that illuminated even slightly, while also blasting inanimate objects.

"Um, just what is this guy's plan anyway?" Beast Boy asked skeptical.

"Whatever it is we'll just have to take him down," I responded fiercely readying myself. "Titans Go!"

Before Dr. Light could even acknowledge our presence we were upon him.

Beast Boy shifted into a rhino and rammed the villain off his feet before he could do anything about it. He was thrown back into the air, letting out a beam of light that struck Beast Boy full in the chest. He shifted back into his human form midair yelling. He was enveloped in black magic before he could touch the ground.

"Uh, thanks," he told Raven.

She flew above him her hands on her hips. "Don't mention it. _Ever._" She flew away before he could give a response.

Starfire let out a long beam of green energy at Dr. Light. As a counter attack, he blasted his own beam of light which collided with hers. They held that position for a moment, seeming to be evenly matched. The Dr. Light smirked.

"Well, that was bright of you," he commented, "But not bright enough!" He let out a surging blast of yellow energy, engulfing Starfire entirely and she was blown backwards into the air, colliding with Raven. She caught Star and lowered her carefully to the ground before preparing to launch her own attack. Before she could fully grasp her bearing though, she was imprisoned in a cage of light, its obnoxious brightness weakening her own powers.

"Well that's new," Cyborg replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Uh, uh," Dr. Light shook his finger. "Lights out," he said as he waved his hands conjuring a ball of energy and shooting it straight at me. I dodged it easily, and the next one, and the next one. I dove behind a wrecked car and looked up, ready to toss one of my gadgets at the villain. However he had learned another new trick. He created a person constructed entirely of light, and it came bounding towards me.

As soon as I tried to touch the thing however, it sent a series of painful shock waves through my nervous system ultimately resulting with me blasting backwards.

Cyborg tried to go directly for Light but was also blasted with one of the light bombs he had originally tried to attack me with.

"Who knew that someone like you would be afraid of the Light?!" Dr. Light sneered as Cyborg moaned in pain from where he lay.

"Stop with the poorly crafted puns now please!" Star cried as she launched herself again at Light.

He looked utterly offended. "What? Poorly crafted…?"

Before he could do anything else she socked him right in the noised and he reeled back in pain. When he glanced up again he discovered Raven's hovering form directly above him. Dark bands swirled around him in the form of restraints. She cocked her head to the side. "Do you really want to go there?" she asked innocently, although her eyes glowed red.

Dr. Light paled then started rocking back and forth in feedle position. "Don't let her hurt me," he whimpered.

So with that, we let the authorities take him away once again, congratulating the girls on their success. We went out for pizza afterwards, and then to the park where we played a few games of ultimate football while Raven stood in the background. At one point Beast Boy went over to her and talked with her. I couldn't understand what he was saying but I'm pretty sure that I saw Raven smile. Wow, who knew that Beast Boy could do that?

When we returned home I noticed that everyone seemed really tired. Which I suppose wasn't a big deal; we had done a lot today, even if the sun hadn't even really begun to set yet. I wasn't really sure on what I should do so I just went up to the rooftop again. I think I needed some quiet time.

I sat alone for only a few minutes until I heard, "Might I join you?"

"Yeah, of course!" I said, maybe a little too eagerly.

Starfire beamed, walking over to me and taking a place beside me. It was a decent space. Large enough that would make it appear that we were just friends. Which we were sort of.

"Um, Robin?" she asked, a little nervously.

"Yeah?"

She tapped her index fingers together. "Well I wished to give you the Birthday present, but I…I wished to give it to you when the others were not around."

I suppressed a gulp. What was it? And why were my hands clammy again?

She smiled at me nervously standing up. She reached out a hand to me. "Do you trust me?"

I took it almost immediately although I was beginning to get extremely nervous. "With my life."

She nodded, more to herself than she was to my comment. "Close your eyes," she murmured.

I did as she told me to, although technically I suppose I could have kept them open, it's not like she would've noticed. I expected to feel the warm pressure of her lips against mine but instead I felt my feet lift off the ground. She was taking me somewhere, away from the tower. I tried not to peek but I couldn't help noticing that her flying patterns were jerkier than usual, like she was having trouble controlling herself. Crap, and I thought everyone was getting better.

When my feet landed on solid ground I kept my eye closed, waiting for her instructions. Her hand let go of mine. "This is the place I go to when I am having the troubles," she explained. "I promised I would show you, and now I have. You may open your eyes."

I did, but I had to blink several times to make sure I wasn't imagining it. It was absolutely beautiful. We were in a small clearing with a giant wall of stone on one side. A fairly large waterfall tumbled from a crevice in a stone, but it made a tremendous splash when it touched the river flowing beneath it. I assumed that this lead to the ocean. Pine trees surrounded us everywhere, giving us a sense of privacy and protection. However that is not what caught my eye the most.

It was the face of the rock. Or the words carved into it. The writing was so perfectly smooth and deep that I knew it had to be from her starbolts.

_John and Mary Grayson._

She had dedicated her secret place to _my_ parents.

Now I'm not one to get emotional. Maybe on a good day I might admit that my eye fogged over slightly, but that was probably from the humidity or whatever. However I can honestly say it was the best gift I had ever received.

"Happy Birthday Richard," she whispered.

"Star…I," I was at a complete loss for words. Instead I just picked her up by the hips and twirled her around in circles before giving her a giant smack of a kiss on her cheek. She giggled.

"I suppose you like it then?"

"Um, _yeah_," I said laughing. "Thank you…_really._"

She gave me a dazzling smile before reaching down and taking off her boots, revealing long tan legs.

"Uh…what are you doing?" I floundered.

She looked at me with an amused expression. "I am going for a swim. You wish to join yes?"

I glanced at the water. "But it'll be freezing."

She shook her head at me. "Come, I will show you."

I reluctantly unclipped my cape and slid off my own boots, following her over to the shimmering water's edge. She grabbed my hand and leapt into the river and I squinted my eyes tightly expecting a thousand spiked needles to hammer through my skin.

However it wasn't cold in the slightest. It was like…like bath water. But…how?

We resurfaced a moment later, Starfire giggling, myself, staring at her in amazement. "Why is it so warm?" I wondered out loud. "It's March!"

She laughed again. "I will show you. You must hold your breath though."

I nodded as she dove under the water once more. I took a gigantic breath of air before following her.

She led me to the bottom of the river which was deeper than I had expected. She swam to the side where there was earth and scratched a little with her fingers. A pinkish red gem shone brilliantly from where she had scratched away layers of soot and grime. She gestured to the water around her and I nodded to show that I understood. As we swam back to the top I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen that type of stone before.

We came up gasping. As soon as I had caught my breath I looked at her with a puzzled expression. "What that-"

"Fluorite," she confirmed nodding. "It has been tampered with…recently. It now contains metallic chromium which makes it just as powerful as the Jewel of Charta Blackfire had used when we had visited Tamaran."

I cocked my head to the side. "Then why aren't you sneezing? And why weren't you sneezing then?"

She shook her head to show she was at a loss. "I do not believe the Jewel my sister had used contained metallic chromium at all, nor was it fluorite. The Jewel of Charta can be made from several rare minerals without the use of metallic chromium so I believe that is the reason I did not react to it. However I located this batch _with_ my allergy. Perhaps I have grown accustomed to its ways? I am not sure. But I still sneeze on the rare occasion."

"That's really strange," I pondered scratching my chin, but then shrugged. "You said it was tampered with?"

Starfire nodded. "Yes, recently, it did not originally contain metallic chromium, but now that is does it is most powerful. I have never seen such an abundant source such as this one. I have never told a soul of it because it had tremendous powers that are best kept hidden. It is the reason the water has changed temperature."

"That _is_ really strange."

She nodded. Then in one swift motion she splashed me in the face, diving away towards the waterfall before I could return the splash.

"Hey!" I cried out laughing as I dove after her. As we resurfaced once again, our heads were splattered gently with the falling water. It was colder in temperature but it was a nice contrast to the warm bathwater. As soon as the falling water droplets hit the river they changed in temperature. I wrapped my arms around her waist and in turn she wrapped hers loosely around my shoulders. Our legs tangled together beneath the water. She slipped away from my embrace and willed the energy to float on land once more where she collapsed from exhaustion. I followed her soon after. We lay side my side, smiling at each other and breathing heavily.

After we had caught out breath she looked up towards the sky and I followed her gaze. I could just see the barest tint of orange that marked the beginnings of sunset.

She sighed, still looking at the sky. "There is also another part to you present."

I gazed at her in confusion. "What more could you possibly give me?"

Her lips curved upward in a delicate smile that faded when she answered. "The truth."

Then she began to tell me her story.

~0~0~0~

A terrible war had taken a place on her planet just before she was born, destroying any vegetation and reducing her home world to a barren desert. She was born third in line to the throne, after her sister and uncle. Her mother Luadn'r-Moonfire- and her father Myand'r-Sunfire- ruled at the time. She had a little brother also, Ryand'r was his name, but on Earth he would have been known as Wildfire.

They were trained as warriors on a place called Okaara, which I had never heard of before. Blackfire was always jealous of Starfire, even if she _was_ considered a better fighter. One day, the three were taken as prisoner to a people called the Psions. They were known to conduct awful experiments to their victims. In result to their many different types of torturing, they could create starbolts, or energy from their hands. They were the only Tamaranians to be able to do so.

They escaped and returned to Tamaran with their new found powers. Everything was peaceful for a while until war raged once more.

Myand'r-in Starfire's opinion- did what any ruler in that situation had to: he made a treaty with the enemy. The Citadel would guarantee peace if he offered up one of his children as a prize. He chose her.

She was taken away from Tamaran, for six years where she was tortured almost to death. She didn't go into detail, and I didn't ask her to. By the sixth year she had broken free and had returned to Tamaran where Blackfire was waiting for her.

Her older sister explained how Ryand'r had to be shipped away for safety in case war ever did rage again. Their mother and father were so distraught with loss for both of their children that they fell sick from Tamaranian heartbreak, and soon had passed.

Starfire, or Princess Koriand'r was now second in line to the throne. However she was banished from Tamaran for dishonoring the treaty. At the time, Starfire was unaware that Blackfire was in cahoots with the Gordanians, the reptile species that was supposed to destroy her, or turn her back over to the Citadel. When she left the planet once more she was ambushed an imprisoned once again. This time when she escaped she managed to fly herself to Earth, despite how disoriented and tired she was.

The rest I could figure out for myself.

~0~0~0~

I honestly didn't know what to say.

As she recalled her tragedies, her eyes misted over, but she did not shed a tear. When she was finished she took a deep breath and then looked at me. I sighed also before turning my head to face her. We stared at each other for a moment before I spoke.

"I'm sorry."

She gave me a small smile. "Do not be. Although it was a tragic experience, you have also been through similar the pains. However my time here on Earth makes up for those years. I have my friends to thanks for that." She blushed. "I have _you_ to thank for that."

My eyes widened slightly, but before I could answer she sat up straight, stretching her back muscles. I stood up collecting the articles of clothing I had removed and put them back into place. Starfire copied my actions, not speaking as she did so. I understood that. She needed some time to think. After her heart wrenching story so did I. Maybe if I started working on the cases when we got back that would take my mind off things.

I inwardly nodded at the thought. Yes, I just needed to mull things over in my brain. It would give me time get back on my game at least. If I could just get home and lock myself in my room for I few hours I was sure to-

"Robin? Do you wish to depart?" she questioned, holding out her hand.

I smiled at her, taking it immediately. "Sure."

She returned my smile with a small one of her own before giving my hand a gentle squeeze. Then-although it was shaky-we flew away from the clearing, away from the memorial, away from the memories, and back to our home.

**Author's Note:**

_Ok, so it's not EXACTLY the right order but I thought I did a pretty good job with the whole past thing. I might have made some mistakes or purposely added some things but whatever it's FanFiction._

_ Please review! And keep an eye out for updated drabbles!_


	8. Crushed

Our feet thudded softly on the roof as we landed. The sky was stained a brilliant orange as the sun slowly set. We turned to face it for a moment, in complete silence. I enjoyed that moment, perhaps a little bit more than I had intended, before I let out a long sigh.

"Thanks, for everything, Star," I told her.

She turned to me, her eyes glowing. "Thank _you,_ for being my best friend."

I smiled at her, and then the warm expression faded from my face as I considered all of the work I had to get done. I stretched, cracking all of the muscles in my back and shoulder before I turned away from her.

"Well," I continued, rolling my stiff neck, "I should get back to work then."

I could literally feel the warm energy within her fade ever so slightly. "So soon?" she asked a hint of whining in her tone. "Surely you can spare a little more time?"

I shook my head. "I really shouldn't. I'm already behind as it is."

She walked in front of me, blocking my path. "Just a few more minutes?" she questioned, the eagerness in her voice clear.

"I really, really can't," I answered immediately, with a hint of annoyance.

She bit her lip, sensing my growing anger. "Very well. Then I shall assist you, yes?"

I shook my head again, sure that she would be unhappy with my response. "No, I need to do this alone." Making my feet move, I brushed past her, my hand reaching for the handle of the door leading to the stairs.

She ran up to my side this time, and for a moment I was concerned that she could not fly again. "Why?" she inquired, skeptical. "Surely you would be more successful if I was to assist?"

"No Star," my tone was filled with annoyance now. I didn't have time for this.

"But, Robin, you would benefit with my knowledge of the _orthax,_" she insisted.

"Yeah, well, that thing's really not my concern at the moment." I stepped back from her, to put some distance between us.

She didn't seem to notice the way I was suddenly on edge. Her face lit up with a new kind of light though, and I knew that she had understood. "Slade," she concluded.

Nodding, I tried to step around her, but she was standing smack in the middle of the doorway. "Yes."

Starfire placed her hands on her hips, her expression confused now. "Then in that case, you would definitely benefit from my assistance. I could tell you about the clues from when I had ventured to-"

"Star, I said no," I said through gritted teeth.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "You are not the only one who has suffered because of him Robin."

I stared at her in disbelief. She was right, of course, but she had to understand why I needed to do this. It was for my parents, for the city, for my own sanity. "I need to do this alone."

"No. You. Do. Not," she fired back, her voice was cutting.

Forcing myself not to flinch I fired back with, "You don't understand! You never understand! Just give me some time, would you? You don't have to this!" As we argued we had walked back to the edge of the roof. I had only done it so I could pace, but she had followed me.

"It is you that is not doing the understanding," she argued. "I _want_ to do this!"

"See? You _don't _get it!" I snapped back, my voice rising, "_I_ don't want you to do this!"

Starfire froze for a second. Clearly she had not expected me to come out and say something like that. She hesitantly reached a hand out to me. "Robin, you have suffered greatly, but you cannot go through this alone."

Her tone was gentle, but this only fueled my anger. I jerked away from her touch. "Yes, I do," I spat. "Just leave."

"And where am I to go exactly?" she hissed, the fury returning to her eyes.

"What the hell do I care? Just somewhere not near me!"

She turned around so her back was facing me. "On my world, it would not be right to leave others in such a fragile state."

Fragile? _Fragile?_ I was man things, but I was_ not_ fragile!

"Well maybe you should go back to Tamaran!" I bellowed.

I regretted the words as soon as I had said them.

Her whole body had seized up and then shook visibly. That was the worst thing I could have possibly said to her. Tamaran wasn't her home anymore, Earth was. And I-her best friend, may or may not with benefits-had told her otherwise.

We stood there for only a moment, I was breathing heavily, my eyes wide with horror, while she shook like a leaf, although with sadness or anger I did not know.

I would know in a second.

In one fluid motion she whipped around and slapped me across the face. Hard. My head snapped to the side, and I could literally feel how angry she was. She must have unintentionally had her hands glowing with energy, because my face burned from her strike, long after her hand had left my skin.

She was trying to fly away and I knew she couldn't. She was jumping, and for a moment I thought I saw her float slightly, how I do not know. What I did know was that she couldn't keep it up for long, and if I didn't stop her, she would most certainly fall to her death.

"Star!" I called, running after her, even if she appeared not to hear me. "Star, wait!"

She was about to launch herself off the roof. I knew for a fact that I needed to stock up on my gadgets. I wouldn't have been able to save her this time.

I knew what I had to do. I had to make her stay, or at least make her hesitate, if only for a moment. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I knew I had to. This was much harder than I had imagined, and I wonder if she felt like this, when I was leaving her last Christmas.

_"I love you."_

Just like I had expected, she paused. She didn't look at me, and her hesitance didn't last long, but it was enough.

I sprinted over to her and spun her around, crushing my lips against hers.

For the longest moment, she just stood there, not kissing me back, just waiting. It was like kissing a wall in all honesty. But then, thank God, she started to move her lips.

I softened mine as soon as she did, but I pulled her towards me, because I was afraid she would try to run away again. We had never kissed like this before, it was so…warm.

It was extraordinary.

Her cheeks weren't wet like I had expected they would be. She must have been fueled by anger, and only that. My cheek still stung from her burning slap and I figured it would leave a mark. I felt her fingers run over it gently, and I sighed against her lips.

I felt her lips curve upwards in a Starfire smile and it filled me with a sense of pure bliss. She hadn't been able to smile like that in ages. I figured she had let it out now because she knew what an idiot I was. No more hiding. No more denying my feelings for her. And truly, I didn't mind in the least.

Her arms draped around my neck so I was able to pull her closer. The tips of her fingers on one hand ran through my hair, the other hand traced the long ago faded scar on my shoulder. I'm pretty sure I whispered the words "I love you," and "sorry," and "I'm a dick," a hundred times. She didn't say anything back. Her silence was louder than anything she could have said to me.

As we kissed I was vaguely aware of a shifting in the background. I assumed it was Beast Boy or Cyborg, eavesdropping but I didn't care. It wasn't until I heard a voice that my blood ran cold.

"My, my, Robin, I never knew you could be so…_passionate._"

We pulled apart immediately, my face was still flushed, but it lingered because of a different reason.

Starfire charged her bolts but they flickered out after only just a few seconds and she looked at me, alarmed. My eyes however were narrowed, as I stepped protectively in front of her, my hand drawing my cape in front of us. "_Slade."_

He shook his head at me, mockingly. "Tsk. Tsk. I expected more from you Robin, letting such petty distractions get to you, while I'm still at large. Not to mention that nasty beast I sent after you. You still don't know what I'm planning…do you?"

Starfire gasped as she realized the truth.

"Don't lecture me!" I spat, "I'll make you pay…for everything you did!" His words started to burn in the back of my mind. He was responsible…for everything.

"How noble," he continued, his hands drawn behind his back. "But I'm not here to fight. Merely to make a delivery."

He flung a pizza box at us. Out of all the things, a pizza box, and it could not have been clearer. He was responsible…_for everything._ It exploded, however I drew my cape around us to shield the blow. When the smoke cleared he was gone.

I swore loudly, turning to Starfire. "You alright?"

She nodded, although she looked shaken up.

"Come on."

We fled down to the common room, to the others. This was far from over. He wasn't running away again. Not now, not ever.

"Slade!" I shouted, startling everyone in the room. They looked at me like I was crazy, and I was. But I was telling the truth.

"Dude, what happened to you face?" BB questioned, referring to the slap mark.

"Slade had returned!" Star continued, ignoring Beast Boy's comment for probably guilty reasons. "And…and…"

"Your powers," I interrupted, bolting to the monitors to scope for him, while still addressing my team. "Are they available?"

Starfire tried to charge her bolts. They shone, but only barely. Raven could only levitate off the ground. Cyborg had no access to any of his weapons, he had trouble getting off the couch to explain this, and his joints were all out of whack. Beast Boy could only turn into insects, or extremely small animals. We were utterly defenseless.

"It was Slade," I continued, glaring at me team with narrowed slits. "He did this to us, somehow. He's responsible for the _orthax_ too. Although I don't know how he could have gotten a hold of it. We have to find him. We have to-"

"Robin," Raven's voice cut me off. "Face the facts. We don't know Slade's whereabouts, and we can't control our powers. Even if we were to find him, the only one who can be of use is you."

"That's not true," I shook my head. "Star your strength?"

She nodded. "It is available."

I turned to Cyborg, he also nodded, concluding he was fine with hand to hand combat…for the moment anyway.

"Then that's all we need," I told Raven who stared back at me with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, well what am _I _supposed to do? What about Raven?!" Beast Boy demanded. "You can't expect us to-"

"I can and do," I snapped, banging my fist against one of the monitors.

"Don't talk to him like that," Raven eyes shone with intense fury, a kind I had never seen from her before. Everyone was speechless, even Beast Boy, which is saying something. However it all made sense when he reached for her hand, and Raven took it.

I shook my head, desperately trying to clear my muddled thoughts. "We need to be focused," I continued, pacing.

"What do you want us to do?" Cyborg asked with a new kind of confidence and devotion that I was thankful for.

I stopped pacing and looked at him. "We'll need to scout the area. We can split up. Take any routes necessary and-"

The screen to the TV flickered on as Slade's image appeared. "Hello Titans."

We all whipped around. Perfect timing as usual, another thing I hated about him. "Slade," I gritted my teeth. "What do you want? Where are you? When I find you I'll-"

"Patience, Robin," he spoke, his tone picking up the slightest trace of amusement, making a pulse throb in my forehead. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"I'm not interested in your games Slade," I hissed. "What are you planning?"

"Really?" he sounded mildly curious. "Not interested in my games? That doesn't seem right at all. Maybe, perhaps you're not interested in my type of games then?" His eyes rolled towards Starfire and I felt my cheeks growing red.

"If you don't-"

"Well since you're so interested in my plans, I'll tell you," he continued. "Perhaps your familiar with something called…the Jewel of Charta?"

Everyone in the room besides me gasped. I already knew where this was heading. He held up the very thing we all had been anticipating. It was the same amulet that he had used that night to escape. How could I have been so stupid? _Again?!_

"Hmm? Familiar no?" he said casually. "Very powerful, very…deadly." His eye narrowed. "It can do many things, although I'm sure you've figured that out by now. Teleportation…._annihilation._ The gem has powers beyond any of the Titan's realms, enough power to destroy the entire city. As for your teammates…well I'm sure my probes will keep their powers in check. They haven't failed me yet." I could tell he was smirking. His probes, they were in their bodies again. Except this time, they served for a different purpose.

"We will find you," I snapped, my fingers curling until they formed fists.

He shrugged. "Perhaps, or I could destroy the entire city right now…but where would be the fun in that? You get three days. But let me assure you it won't be easy to find me. If you try to find a loophole in this, if you try to find other teammates…other _Titans,_ I can assure you the _orthax _will find _you _first. Good-bye."

The screen went dead.

It was silent for a moment as everything Slade had said sunk in. Then Beast Boy spoke up.

"So what now?"

I turned to face my team. They were all looking at me with the same expression etched on their faces. They were all waiting for orders. The only problem was…I didn't have any.

"Robin," Starfire said, softly, reaching towards me.

I backed away towards the door, slowly at first, until I spun and sprinted away. Down the hallway, past endless amount of doors which by now all looked the same. I burst into the training room, my head filled with unhealthy thoughts, my pulse beating dangerously fast. With all of my anger, all of my despair, and all of my being, I attacked the closest thing to me, which happened to be the punching bag.

I punched, kicked, jabbed, thrust, flexed, attacked, pummeled, beat, and pounded against that bag, until it broke clean off its hinges. Even then, I continued to grind the bag to a pulp, my anger not fading in the slightest. Finally, when it became unbearable to breathe, I sunk down to my knees and buried my face in my hands. My breathing was ragged, and uneven. I was a monster, a broken soul, and always would be. I tore of my mask and flung it aside, sick of having to conceal my eyes, my identity.

I lay on my back staring up at the ceiling, staring at the broken hinges until my eyes drooped shut.

I didn't dream.

I wasn't aware of how long I lay there for. My eyes stayed closed even when I awoke again, in the same position as before.

There was a knock at the door. It wasn't gentle, but it wasn't forceful either. I didn't get up to answer it. The knocking continued, and then it was quiet for only a moment until I heard the door being wrenched open with great strength. I knew immediately who it was, but I didn't open my eyes.

She bent over my body, pressed her lips to min for a soft moment. Her nose brushed mine. I opened my eyes, and we stared at each other for a moment. Sitting up, she wrapped he arms securely around me. It was too much. It was all too much.

Then I did something. Something I haven't done in six years. Something I never thought I would do again.

I cried.

**Author's Note:**

_Please Review! _


	9. The First Day Fire

**Author's Note:**

_Wow! Thanks for all of the reviews for that last chapter! I really appreciated it! Keep reviewing! And thanks again! You are all great!_

~0~0~0~

Surprisingly, I wasn't as ashamed of myself as I thought I would be. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I didn't have a single confident or judgmental nerve in me anymore. I was too far gone for that.

Starfire rocked me back in forth in her arms, her fingers stroking my back, her head pressed against mine. As she comforted me, I let out tiny sobs, my face buried in the crook of her neck. I sounded like a lost child. In a way, I guess you could say I was. It had just taken me a really, really, long time to actually realize that. She hummed in my ear, a tuneless melody, but it calmed my breathing. It gave me something to focus on, which kept me sane.

I wasn't really sure how long we sat there, just holding each other. However finally when my sobs became nonexistent, she held me out in front of her, just looking into my eyes. I stared back at her, but soon her beautiful face became just a blur of colors once more. As the tears dripped down my face she wiped them away. It was a pointless effort really; every time she would dry them, new tears would take their place. It seemed like she felt this was her responsibility though, she had done this once before after all.

Sniffling, I angrily wiped the water from my eyes and mustered a shaky smile. "Thanks Star."

She returned my smile before cradling me in her arms once more. I knew it was pathetic, but I pretended that she was mom. I pretended that I had just skinned my knee, or someone had taken my lunch, and she was comforting me like any mother would. I know right? Pathetic.

"I am so, so sorry," she murmured, her index finger tracing random patterns on the small of my back.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked my voice hoarse, no longer thinking of her as my mother.

"Anything."

I chuckled briefly into her shoulder, lifting my head up to whisper in her ear. "Kiss me."

Her lips curved into that smile I loved so much. "Anything, _especially_ that."

I know it sounded bad, like I was using her for an escape, but I really wasn't. I had just been such an idiot since Tokyo, and because of that I've neglected what I've had in front of me the whole time. I had plenty of catching up to do.

Our lips connected instantly moving together as one. She wrapped her arms around my neck in that familiar way, and shifted so her body was closer to mine. Instead of pushing against her like I normally would, I leaned in the opposite direction, so my back was touching the floor. Her hands traveled over my chest and shoulders, tracing my face, as if trying to memorize everything about me. I pulled off one of my gloves so I could hold her hand; actually _feel_ her with my own skin without a layer of fabric separating us.

She pulled back only slightly, so she could brush her nose against mine. She buried her face in my neck, placing her entire weight on top of me. I folded my arms around her, my chin resting on her shoulder, my eyes focused on her long red hair. I sighed, inhaling her sweet scent that I had resisted for far too long. I let out a long groan.

"What are we going to do?" I murmured.

She didn't answer at first, so I thought she must be mulling that thought over in her mind. What _were_ we going to do? So many places to look, so little time. Three days, only three days. Just enough time to give us hope, but too little a time to actually accomplish anything. I was sure that was Slade's intention in the first place.

"The only thing we can do, what we must do," she answered finally, her hand running down my arm leaving a trail of goose bumps in its wake. "We search, and then we kick the butt."

I smiled into her shoulder. "Couldn't have said that better myself."

I thought about everything I knew currently in this seemingly hopeless situation.

The _orthax_ was still at large, and Slade was controlling it. How, I'm not sure. I'm not even sure how he knew about this creature in the first place, let alone get a hold of it.

Slade had access to a Jewel of Charta. With its power at his control, he could teleport, gain durability and strength; destroy an entire city if he wanted to. And he definitely wanted to.

He was the cause of everyone's power failures. He had inserted probes into the pizza we had been eating. The probes were in all of our bodies, including mine; however being human they had no effect on me. Everyone's powers were currently unstable, and I'm not sure how long they would last period, let along in a battle.

Where could he be hiding? In the city somewhere? By the docks, maybe? In that freaky, old, abandoned factory? The sewer? It was too hard to tell from the video clip he sent us earlier, he could be anywhere.

With another groan I sat up, Starfire edging off me to give me space. I placed my head in my hands to stop the pounding in my temples. I needed to form a plan. And soon. However this was getting incredibly hard when the beautiful girl next to you is rubbing your back and saying you name softly over and over again.

"We need to start our search," I told her, finally, lifting my head up to look at her. I slipped on my glove and plastered the mask in my face again, no matter how much I didn't want to. "I would want us to split up normally, to cover the most ground but…"

She nodded. "I understand," she answered, standing up and offering me a hand which I took. "We shall need to stay together as a team, yes? In case our powers become the unreliable?"

"Exactly. We need to regroup with the other as soon as possible. Time is running out."

I never let go of her hand as we raced to ops.

~0~0~0~

When I entered the common room, I was mildly surprised at the rest of the Titans' states. Cyborg was tirelessly pacing, although his movements seemed to be limited. Every now and then his legs would seize up, and he would mutter something, willing them to work again. Eventually they obeyed his commands but only barely.

Raven and Beast Boy were over by a corner, meditating. Beast Boy…meditating. Something was definitely going on between those two, except I didn't have time to worry or care about them at the moment. I watched as Beast Boy whispered something to her, and in turn Raven slapped him, but a faint blush etched across her cheeks.

When Star and I stepped forward, the door swishing closed behind us, Cyborg halted his pacing while Raven and BB turned towards us expectantly, all signs of humor gone from their faces.

"So you want to explain to us why you had to run off for a little tantrum?" Cyborg questioned icily, his arms folded in an annoyed position.

I choose to ignore this comment, my hand brushing Starfire's as I stepped forward to address the rest of my team. "Listen up Titans," I began, "We have three days to find Slade, and to stop this _orthax_ thing. We need to construct a major search throughout the city while staying within a close range of each other. This is only because of the unstable state of your powers. We should begin immediately."

Everyone seemed on board with my orders, everyone but Cyborg. I had actually expected him to fire back some complaint but instead a curious and rather worried expression crossed his features.

"Man, I don't know about this. There are thousands of places to hide in this city. How are we supposed to find Slade when we don't even have a trace?"

I hunched my shoulders for a moment, before letting a giant sigh escape me. "I don't know," I replied, tiredly, as if we had already been defeated. "I don't know, but it's the only chance we've got.

~0~0~0~

After I had restocked on my weapons, Starfire rode on the back of my R-Cycle while Cyborg automatically took his T-Car, refusing any other forms of transportation, not that there was much to choose from anyway. Raven still had the ability to levitate so she carried Beast Boy, who by the looks of it, was chattering up a storm. I'm sure if she could, Raven would cover his yapper with a black band of energy, but since that option wasn't available, she just had to deal.

We checked the docks first, considering we always found traces of Slade in that particular area. Unfortunately this time, we came up empty handed. Cyborg's scanners managed to work long enough to pick up a large heat signature near the area where the Jump City Carnival was. However before he could identify what it was, he lost the trace again.

Nevertheless, it was a lead, so the team followed the quickest route to where the carnival was normally located. What we saw shocked us all.

It was complete chaos.

There was shrieking, fleeing people everywhere, running in all directions with no plan. Stands of prizes, toys and food were either turned over, or were on fire. The Ferris wheel had broken away from its bounds and was currently rolling free. Starfire immediately jumped off of the R-Cycle and stood in front of the rolling machine. She used her strength to stop the crazed ride before it smashed into a group of petrified children, clearly here for a meant to be fun filled field trip. She leaned the wheel on its side, so it would not roll free anymore. We joined her moments later.

"Good work Star," Beast Boy praised her.

She nodded still trying to catch her breath. The simple act had tired her out quicker than ever before, and that was not a good sign.

I scratched me head, surveying the scene before me. "Question is who…or _what_ did this?" I glanced at Star who was bent over, wiping the sweat in a frustrated fashion from her face. "Starfire, do _orthaxs _have the ability to cause fires?"

She glanced up at me, her eyes portraying her exhaustion as she slowly shook her head from side to side. I pinched the bridge of my nose in concentration. "So if the _orthax_ didn't do this…"

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that thing did," Raven's cutting voice made me look up. A being made entirely out of fire-quite similar to the creatures we had to face during the apocalypse- burned above us, its flaming head reaching a height of at least five stories.

"Titans Go!" I yelled, dread already taking over me. Could we really stop a beast this powerful without the full use of everyone's powers?

Cyborg charged at the being with a mighty yell, picking up a giant beam of metal on his way and swinging wildly at the creature. As metal collided with fire, sparks flew everywhere, igniting large pieces of wood, adding to the flames.

"Cyborg, careful!" I called, although I doubt he heard be over the sound of collapsing rubble. I turned to Raven and Beast Boy. "Get anybody you can out of here!" I ordered, adrenaline making my voice turn harsh. They gave me brisk nods before escorting several people away from the scene and towards safety.

Cyborg continued to whack the fiery being, his blows actually causing the monster to fall back. I extracted several ice bombs from my belt, waiting for the opportune moment. Cy seemed to sense my waiting attack as he continued to wail on the creature because at the last moment he dove out of the way giving me a clear line of fire.

With a grunt I tossed the bombs at its flames. Upon the impact of the hit the bombs exploded a spray of thick ice, incasing the entire being in several layers of ice.

Starfire summoned up her strength as she approached the trapped fire monster. She let out a fierce warrior cry before beckoning the energy to fire a ray of eyebeams at it. As the energy made contact with the ice, the fire being shattered to bits, scattering the areas with miniscule bits of ice, far too tiny to cause any damage.

Wiping the sweat off of my forehead I cast a look at each of my teammates to develop an understanding of their current states.

Cyborg was kneeling on the ground breathing heavily, while trying to work the feeling back into his arm which looked as though it had stiffened up again. Raven and Beast Boy were still finishing with clearing the remaining civilians from the area, but they seemed to be fairing okay. Starfire was shaking visibly, and when she tried to walk towards me she swayed, almost as if she was drunk.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, concern leaking into my voice, clouding any previous thoughts I had about Slade. She nodded, smiling weakly before sitting on the ground, desperately trying to catch her breath.

"I'm fine too man, not that you care," Cyborg half joked, standing up. A smirk was on his face and I couldn't resist the urge to roll my eyes. Just like old times.

"Now what?" Beast Boy asked, as he and Raven joined us as well. They're faces were stained with soot from the heavy smoke, but they seemed uninjured.

I shook my head, clearing the jumbles of thoughts that were flooding my brain. "I'm not sure. This area seems secure, but I don't see why that creature was here."

"It wasn't a coincidence," Raven commented, "Although how Slade got his hands on one of my father's minions is beyond me."

"It is the Jewel," Starfire said from where she sat on the ground. "With its powers Slade has the control over many things. Perhaps this includes the power to summon one of the Trigon's creatures from the fire world?"

Raven shrugged. "It's possible I suppose, but why would he want to, when he already as the entire city in the palm of his hand?"

"It was probably a distraction," Cyborg added grimly, rolling his shoulders, "Slade wants to make sure that we're busy enough to stop looking for him."

"He's trying to waste time," Beast Boy agreed, nodding his head.

I narrowed my eyes. "Well if that's the case, then we need to be on top of our patrols. We don't have much time."

"Then where do you suggest we look?" Raven inquired, her face once again expressionless.

"Maybe we should head back to the tower to do the checking of the monitors?" Star asked, gazing up at me hopefully. I could sense that she needed to rest, or maybe she needed to take a shower. Actually upon inspection, it looked like we all needed one.

I nodded. "Okay, yeah, good idea."

~0~0~0~

We returned to the tower shortly afterwards, all of us leaving a trail of soot on the carpet. Each of us retired to our rooms, preparing to shower and change into something cleaner. Of course I had to check the scanners first, but considering there was nothing to trace, I decided a quick shower wouldn't hurt.

On my way to my room however I happened to pass Raven's room. Now, normally I would have to reason to pause by her door-actually I would prefer not to because knowing her, she would find me in the night and send me through a portal to some wasteland-but I heard a noise. A noise that came undoubtedly from Raven herself, but…

No it couldn't be. It sounded like, like…like a _giggle_.

Raven. Giggling. Those two words did not go together. What could she _possibly _be giggling about? Especially right now? At a time like this?

Against my better judgment, I leaned my ear against the door, just to make sure I wasn't hearing things. After all, I was doing this to protect my good friend Raven right?

It was silent for several moments, and just when I was about to shrug it off, I heard it again except it was much more distinct this time. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline when I heard another sound, and it was certainly not a giggle.

"And you said I didn't have a sense of humor," Beast Boy bragged, his tone heavy with pride. I rolled my eyes at this, leaving instantly. Whatever they were doing in there was none of my business, but honestly, couldn't they be taking this situation a bit more seriously?

Just as I was mentally scolding them in my mind, Starfire stepped out of her room in a skimpy little robe, probably something she had gotten while we were in Gotham. Damn her shopping skills.

_Don't stare, don't stare…your staring!_

"Oh, hello Robin!" she said to me, looking up. "I did not notice you were here! I was just about to head to the showers, I suppose you would like to join me?"

"WHAT?!" My jaw dropped, my face heating up.

She cocked her head to the side. "Surely you are not too exhausted? The walk to the showers is not too far. I am sure you can manage."

"Walk to the…? _Ohhh,"_ I realized, internally smacking myself. She wanted me to walk her to the showers. That I could handle. _Phew._ Stupid hormones. I had been so stupid for assuming.

She pursed her lips. "So…you will walk me then?"

I nodded vigorously. "Yeah, yeah, I can," I said, taking her hand and leading her down the various hallways of Titans' Tower. My mind momentarily forgetting what was soon to come.

**Author's Note:**

_Hope you enjoyed! I'll type more soon, but I really wanna get my next chapter of drabbles up…well we'll see. But keep an eye out for my next update! :)_


	10. The Double Attack

The alarm blared again during lunch the next day. Although Beast Boy had plenty to complain about-he insisted that he needed at least a half an hour to digest-we answered the call immediately.

However I became increasingly frustrated when the supposed trouble turned out to be Overload, draining the energy from a store which happened to sell electronics. This was a complete and utter waste of time. I swear, these villains were doing this on purpose, just to tick me off. Well, it was working.

Meanwhile the team was slowly deteriorating. I could see how weak they were in their eyes. Cyborg no longer shouted during battle, Beast Boy didn't make as nearly as many jokes as he normally would, Starfire no longer smiled that mega-watt smile, and Raven was more distant than ever, always mumbling to herself. The only time she would allow herself to socialize was near Beast Boy, but even the charm of his pointy ears was starting to wear off on her.

We arrived at the video store in less than ten minutes. Raven was already exhausted from having to carry Beast Boy, and he was too worried about her to actually follow my orders. They stayed off to the side until Raven could recover.

I cast smoke bombs at Overload, distracting the electronic freak. We needed to find water and fast. Normally I would just order Raven to make a nearby fire hydrant spew water, but since her powers were dysfunctional, I had Beast Boy run out of the store like a pail boy to fetch some water while we kept Overload busy. We really are a mess now.

The smoke confused him momentarily until he charged through the cloud tossing bolts of power every which way. "Cyborg, look out!" I called as I dodged them rapidly, fearing that his joints wouldn't be able to follow his command in time.

Sure enough this was the case, however Starfire appeared in the nick of time, yanking her friend to the side and shielding him with a starbolt she had produced. With a cry she released her energy. I watched at the green orb sailed over to the massive brute, knocking him off balance.

I used this distraction to my advantage by whipping out my bo staff. I twirled it expertly as I avoided Overload's counter attack. At the last moment, when I was merely feet away from him, I fake jumped and then ducked under, sweeping the staff under his shocking-literally-feet. He fell onto his back with a heavy thud. I reached for my staff again but a felt a hand on my shoulder. The sudden pressure stopped me.

"Don't," Raven warned, her voice still tired, "You'll be electrocuted."

I nodded, it was good that she was so observant. My head snapped back to the side as Overload pushed himself off his feet. He was preparing to attack again. Where was Beast Boy? Maybe, just maybe, if I could get to-

"Robin!" Cyborg called, tapping his scanners. "We've got more trouble!"

I swore under my breath, whipping bird-a-rangs at Overload to keep him occupied. "What now?" I snapped, not bothering to hide my annoyance.

"It is the _orthax,_" Starfire reported gravely, and I swore again.

One of the bird-a-rangs I had thrown had stuck in Overload's chip causing him to shutter in pain. He yanked the weapon out, which was now pulsing with electricity, and hurled it at Raven.

I dove, knocking her out of the way, as the weapon crashed into the window, shattering glass everywhere. Somewhere from behind the desk, the clerk screamed in terror

I didn't have time for this. We couldn't let Overload go, but now might have been our only chance to stop the _orthax_ from escaping. I knew what I had to do, as much as I didn't want to.

"We need to split up!" I yelled back to them, dodging Overload's bolts once more.

"What? No!" Cyborg cried back, taking shelter behind the desk, checking to see if the clerk was okay. "We can't man, we aren't strong enough!"

"Do you see another option?!" I fired, helping Raven up and pushing her towards an isle where she could take shelter.

Cyborg didn't answer back so I knew he was at a loss. I heard his voice bellow back a moment later. "How do we divide it up?"

"I shall seek out the _orthax,_" Starfire called, her hair a tangled mess.

"I'll go with her," Cyborg added.

I wasn't sure about this. Cyborg's movements were limited and Starfire tired easily, but besides myself, they were the most stable on the team right now. Still I was unsure.

"But-"

"Robin, I can handle it," Starfire said confidently, flashing me a small smile of reassurance, before leaping behind the desk with the clerk and Cyborg.

I nodded, there was really nothing I could say at that point. It was the only way. "Be careful," I told them, but I think they both realized who I was really talking to.

Starfire smiled once more before taking Cyborg's arm and sprinting out the door, in the direction of the _orthax._ Cyborg gave me a salute as they left the scene. I turned my attention back to Overload as soon as they were gone. This was going to end…_now._

~0~0~0~

The tips of my hair were singed, my cape was on the verge of tearing, and my eyes were clouded with unshed tears from all of the smoke. I was running out of weapons, not to mention time.

"Raven!" I yelled for about the fifth time since Star and Cy had left.

"Still okay," she called back, and I thought I heard a trace of sarcasm in her voice. Well she would just have to deal with me checking up on her every five minutes. She was utterly defenseless.

My attention turned back to Overload a second to late and I was sailing through the air a moment later, a burn mark etching its way up my cheek. I cried out in pain as I landed with a sickening thud on top of the piles of broken glass from the window. What did he even need anyway? Slade must have sent for him too not doubt. Just another distraction. It was always another distraction.

Overload loomed over me, crackling with brighter energy. I was totally at his mercy. Desperate for some sort of weapon, I whipped shards of glass at him but he shattered it with ease. All I could do was close my eyes and hope to God it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would.

Suddenly I heard him cry out in pain. I opened my eyes, glancing up as the vents from the building wrapped around the monster, pulsing with black energy. Rolling out of the way, I took shelter behind the desk, as the vents squeezed him tighter and tighter. Then, it was as if a switch had been flipped, because Raven's powers suddenly broke, the metal vents falling around Overload.

"That's for thinking I was defenseless," I heard her spit. So she had read my mind, I guess I should have expected that would still work out for her. However all I could do was be concerned by how tired her voice sounded.

As Overload started to power up again, he was washed over with water emitting from a fire hose. I sighed in relief. Beast Boy had arrived. It was about time.

"Hey guys, did ya miss me?" He asked grinning, when Overload was reduced to a chip. He frowned when he noticed how trashed the store was, the unconscious clerk peeking out from behind the desk, and the fact that only Raven and I were still there. "Uh…"

Raven rose up from where she was hiding, brushing the soot from her cape with an annoyed expression on her face. "It took you long enough," she complained.

He shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face. His lips bended into a frown when he discovered that Star and Cyborg weren't reappearing. "Um, I think we're uh, missing a few members…"

I wiped the sweat and grime off my forehead. "The _orthax_ showed up again." I let that comment sink into my mind as I realized how serious this was. "We have to go." I snapped suddenly, more at myself than at Beast Boy or Raven. "Come on!"

"Um, dude," at Beast Boy's voice, I paused my pacing-I hadn't even realized I was pacing in the first place-and twisted around to look at him, my expression dark and determined. "In case you haven't noticed, we aren't exactly…prepared to fight that gooey thing."

"I don't care," I hissed, wiping my mouth. "Star and Cyborg need our help! Do you just expect them to fight alone?!" I had gotten right up in his green face, anger and adrenaline fueling me.

Raven stepped in and pushed me back firmly with her hand. Her expression was how it was when she was trying to be reasonable. "Robin," the tone in her voice gained my attention. "Face the facts. As much as we'd like to help Cyborg and Starfire, we aren't in any condition to fight. We'd be more of a hindrance than a help. You go. We'll patrol the city or something."

I studied her and Beast Boy for a moment. She was still panting slightly, and Beast Boy really was no condition to fight. He would be useless.

"Fine," I said finally, my voice still showing my annoyance, but I was much calmer. "Although stay in touch would you? I don't want anyone getting hurt."

They nodded immediately at this, and even though I wasn't entirely convinced, every second I wasted Cy or Starfire could be getting hurt. With a final nod I hopped on my R-Cycle and raced away, my heart hammering in my chest.

~0~0~0~

Sure enough the heat signature led to the docks. It was always the docks. I parked the R-Cycle behind an old abandoned shed before I sprang into action. Cyborg was faring much better than he was back at the battle with Overload. His joints and actions were almost as fluent as they normally are. He still clearly couldn't use any of his weapons, but he was pretty lethal when it came to hand to hand combat. Every time he came relatively close to the _orthax_ he landed several punches and even a few kicks before he expertly dodged the counter attack. He was signaling to someone up in the air and sure enough Star swooped down and plucked him out of the path of the now very angry and charging alien.

She could fly again. She must seriously have been happy, or maybe it was because we hadn't eaten any of Troy's pizza. That was where Slade had failed in his plans. It didn't make sense at all. Why would he tell us about the probes in the pizzas when he knew we would keep eating them? Wouldn't we all just return to normal in a few days?

Maybe because we didn't have a few days. After today we would only have one.

With that thought in mind this battle had to end as soon as possible. I had no idea whatsoever how to kill this thing, let alone detain it. I just had to rely purely on Starfire's signals and signs.

"Starfire!" I called, my hands outstretched for her, as soon as she dropped Cyborg off safely nearby.

The look of joy on her face when she saw me made me fill up with pride. Her face twisted in horror briefly and I realized that I must not have looked the best right there and then. I smiled to show her I was perfectly fine and a moment later her hands entwined with my own. She flew closer to the _orthax_ then as soon as we were in close enough range, she spun be around, releasing me on my command. As my foot made contact with the side of the alien's face, it rolled over, using the impact against me. For the briefest of moments my foot was suction cupped to the _orthax's_ face until it freed me from its sticky grasp, shooting me into a pile of old wood.

I heard Starfire call my name, but I yelled to her that I was all right. I didn't want her becoming distracted for my sake. Distraction meant error, and error sometimes meant death. It took the sound of her battle cry to reassure me that her attention was her opponent. I lifted myself out of the rubble and dusted myself off. As soon as I checked myself for injuries-I had only minor scratches-I bounded out in the open, ready for round two.

It was a good thing I appeared just then considering Star practically fell into my arms when the _orthax_ whipped her with its newly formed tail. The impact of her against me knocked us both back into the pile of rubble. I helped her out of the wood pile-I had about thirty splinters it felt like-and we were about to head straight back over to the wood of the docks when Cyborg's outburst distracted us.

"Boo-yah!" he bellowed for the first time in days, as he launched himself at the _orthax._ He knocked the giant acid monster off its feet with a single punch, one that rewarded with Star's clapping. I even cheered him in a bit before I remembered that I wasn't a cheerleader I was a superhero. I made a move for him but the unthinkable happened.

The _orthax's_ long slimy antennae appeared out of nowhere. It had been cleverly hidden to the side, but had just spouted and lunged for Cyborg before he had any real time to react. Its stinger made contact with him.

Starfire screamed bloody murder and squeezed her eyes shut. My mouth suddenly became too dry for me to form words, for me to even yell. I watched in horror as the beast backed away, clearly pleased with itself.

Before I, myself had time to react Cyborg jumped up brushing off his shoulders. He backed away from the _orthax_ and when he thought he was a safe distance away he turned to us.

"It's okay, y'all," he said giddily, raising his hands in a sign of assurance. "Nasty little bug just stabbed the wrong part of me." He pointed to his mechanical arm where a tiny spot of acid remained. He rubbed the mark on the side of the building before cracking his knuckled and neck muscles.

The _orthax_ actually looked confused, as if wondering why Cy wasn't writhing in pain on the ground, begging for mercy. Cyborg smirked at the creature.

"Oh, I betchu thought that that was gonna hurt, didn't you, you giant zit?" Cyborg taunted, rolling his head from side to side, cracking his knuckles once more. "Well guess what? You thought wrong!" He charged at the _orthax_ once more and all I could do was stare at him in disbelief.

I shook my head to clear it, glancing at Starfire, who had her hands covering her eyes. I removed her hands gently, but her eyes were closed. She was biting her lip.

"Hey, Star," I said gently. "It's okay, Cyborg's okay," I allowed myself a light laugh. "Actually, he's much better than okay, look."

She hesitantly opened her eyes and it pained me to see that they were filled with unshed tears. She sniffed, wiping her eyes with her fist. "Yes, he has said the "Boo-yah," so I believe he is the okay." She smiled at me a little before pecking me on the cheek and rushing to join Cy in battle. After a few quick blinks I followed her.

~0~0~0~

Damn. This _orthax_ thing did not give up. It didn't even look as if it was tired at all. Us on the other hand…well that was a much, _much _different story.

I was a wreck. Not only had a sweated through my shirt, but my hair was starting to sag from the wetness in my hair. It was very distracting when it got in my eyes. Not to mention the only weapon I had left was my grappling hook, and I really didn't see the need for it anyway.

Cyborg couldn't go on for much longer either. His joints were starting to bug him again, and he would randomly twitch or walk in the wrong direction. He didn't want to danger us, so he didn't attack as often as he usually would.

Starfire was having trouble flying again. She kept dipping at odd angles and randomly stopping short until finally she just gave up and started running. Her eyebeams were failing her as well. She had to focus on starbolts and starbolts only.

We kept going though, because what else could we do really? I would throw in a right jab and then get thrown off. Star would wail on the thing with her starbolts and then would have to need to take a breather, however at that point she was left in a vulnerable position. That was when Cyborg came in, blocking her own body with his for as long as he could until he actually started swinging at us himself. As soon as she recovered her breath she would punch and kick and occasionally get thrown off. That's when I would come in again, dodging and jabbing, punching and wailing and kicking and dodging again, until I got thrown off. Then the cycle just continued.

However about the thirtieth time I got thrown off into a pile of rubble, I stayed, my limbs and joints aching too much to get up right away. I moaned where I lay, hoping Star wouldn't realize the state I was in. I kept my eyes on her from where I was, hoping she could handle herself, even though I knew she could. Still, I couldn't help but worry.

I shut my eye for only a moment I swear, when I heard the chilling sound of her scream. Suddenly I could move again, I could breathe easily again, and I forced myself up, my head whipping every which way, trying to locate her.

She was gone.

And so was the _orthax._

"Robin, man!" Cyborg called from where he lay, his arms and legs twisted at all odd angles. "The docks!"

That was all the information I needed. I bounded to the edge my eyes scanning the water. For a moment I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, just water. But then slowly, ever so gradually, a tremendous puddle of pink acid floated to the surface, bubbling and churning and then lying still.

No Starfire, just acid.

**Author's Note:**

_Cliffhanger! Haven't had one of those in a while. Well, you probably hate me, but I've gotta make sure you keep reading! Please review!_


	11. Steamy Passion

**Author's Note:**

_ This chapter is called "Steamy Passion" for a reason people! Don't worry it's all PG-13._

My breath caught in the back of my throat and I was making these strange noises. Then with one giant intake of breath, I leapt dove into the stained waters, directly in the center of the acid puddle.

It probably wasn't my smartest move, on account of I couldn't open my eyes underwater, or else the acid would burn them. But I couldn't just leave her down there; every second I wasted she was closer to dying.

My hands made random jerking motions as I swam every which way even though I was completely blind, just searching for the feel of her fabric or a lock of hair.

Eventually my own lungs started to ache and I had to surface momentarily. My head whipped around, praying that she was lying somewhere on the docks, or helping Cyborg stand up or…or…

But she wasn't.

I dove down again after catching my breath. Why wasn't she here? The acid was beginning to burn through my clothes; I could feel it. But I kept searching, kept swimming, kept hoping…

When I surfaced the second time I began to lose it. I crawled my way onto the dock because the acid was starting to seep through my eyes. Once I was on land once more, I shot my grappling hook in the water, wishing that it would grab hold of something, anything.

I didn't even feel so much as a tug.

"Robin, man," I heard Cyborg say my name but I didn't turn to him. I was preparing to dive into the pink waters a third time when the acid on the surface started to bubble again. It was a soft bubbling at first, because the waters were extremely thick. However as time passed it grew faster and more erratic.

Then all of a sudden it stilled, and something was rising. It looked like it was struggling, the acid cleaning to every part of it, as it clawed its way to the docks. As weak as I was I prepared myself for the worst. This had to be what remained of the _orthax._

As it drew nearer, I realized I was puffing out my breaths abnormally like an angry hog would. This thing had killed Star! Now it would be _its_ turn.

Once it was in close range of me, I readied myself. I was about to lash out when the thing shook its head vigorously extending goopy appendages towards the wood of the docks. It took me a moment too long to discover that those appendages were hands, and that those hands belonged to _my _Star.

"Starfire!" I shouted, overjoyed that she was okay. At least, she _seemed_ okay. Her eyes still were blazed with a fiery green, and as acid and goo dripped off her body, I could see how tattered her clothes were.

She met my gaze and smiled weakly, crawling towards me. I limped to her side, wrapping her in my arms and holding her tight.

"I believe we are victorious," she wheezed, and I allowed myself a creaky chuckle. I wiped the goo from her hair and ignored the terrible stinging on my skin which I was just starting to notice.

"I think you mean _you_ are victorious," I murmured, stroking her back.

She didn't answer; instead she buried herself closer to me, shaking ever so slightly. I would have to ask her later how exactly she destroyed the _orthax_ but she needed to recover first. We _all _needed to recover.

_"Dude," _Beast Boy muttered from a little ways off. So he and Raven had decided to tag along as well. They were a little late, but at least they came to check on us. At first I was annoyed at his mild comment but then I realized it wasn't mild at all. We must have been quite a sight on the end of that dock, covered in acid, scantily clothed, clinging onto each other as if the very world had depended on it.

~0~0~0~

Apparently Cyborg had made advancements to the tower without my consent.

As soon as we had arrived home he had led us to the bathroom, pulled out a dial I had never even seen before, and typed in a code I didn't even know was used for anything in particular. However as soon as he had, a giant mechanically advanced tub popped out of the wall like nothing, and just…_was there._

I mean seriously Cyborg; you could have at least _told _me you had built a colossal Jacuzzi in the tower. Maybe I wanted to use it.

Once the giant tub was out in the open and the look of astonishment was off my face, Cyborg scratched his head and laughed nervously to gain my attention.

He cleared his throat. "So…as you can see, I kind of…built this a while ago," he explained sheepishly, avoiding my gaze. "It has state of the art jet streams and the purest water in all of Jump," he continued, beaming with pride. He bent over to the side of the tub and typed in another code before continuing this seemingly pointless speech. "Now I just gotta switch the processors over to the wire caplets to trigger the chemically advanced setting and we're good to go."

"Um, I believe the term is 'gazuntite?'" Starfire questioned, bending over to watch whatever the hell Cy was doing.

He chuckled, retreating to the door after he had switched the settings. "Well lil' lady, this means you two can take a full chemical bath. Wash all those nasty toxins from your skin." He winked but then frowned momentarily. "I better not be finding anything nasty in there later," he warned me before exciting.

I stared at the door for a moment with a scowl on my face but the sound of rushing water had pulled my attention away. Starfire was already under the water; however unlike the scare we had earlier, she surfaced seconds later, giggling. She was still wearing her tattered uniform.

As soon as I had removed my shoes, gloves, cape, shirt, _and_ mask, I hopped into the Jacuzzi beside her, immediately copying her actions by slipping under the water.

I sighed as I resurfaced, closing my eyes for a moment. Already the sting of the acid was leaving my damaged skin. I glanced at my skin and noted with dismay that I would probably have a few scars from that battle. Oh, well, at least they would be all physical.

Star pulled off her now sopping gloves and boots and wrung her hair dry before she draped it over the side of the hot tub. She rubbed her face tiredly before watching me curiously.

"What is wrong?" she asked.

I didn't answer at first because I was too preoccupied with the mark on her left temple. "You're hurt."

She shrugged, a gesture she only occasionally did. "You are hurt as well. It does the happening sometimes, yes?"

It was my turn to shrug. "I was just worried as all."

All traces of humor left her face. "I too experienced this troubling feeling. But we are the okay now."

"Not yet we aren't," I reminded her grimly. "The _orthax_ might be gone, but Slade isn't…how did you destroy it anyway."

She combed her fingers through her hair which was darkened from the wetness. "I rammed my fist into its being and produced a starbolt large enough to envelop it entirely. I am sure the environment we were in assisted me greatly."

I frowned. "Still though, wasn't that risky? It could have poisoned you."

"I did not think of that," she explained. "I thought instead of all of the people who would live safely if I was successful in destroying the _orthax._" She paused here before staring me in the eyes. "You were one of them."

For some stupid reason my cheeks went red. She smiled at that.

"But you're…you're not injured are you?" I pressed, my eyes narrowing. "You're not hiding any injuries?"

Star cocked one of her unusual eyebrows. "Why would I do that? I would certainly not benefit from it, and apparently nether would you."

"I don't know," I mumbled, swimming closer to her. "Because I'm paranoid."

She smiled again, her eyes shone. "I know." She ran her hands through her hair again, and I had a sudden thought along the lines of: _That's _my_ job!_

"Can I hug you again?"

She giggled. "You do not need my permission."

I gave her a lop-sided smile before I closed the space between us, wrapping my arms around her and pressing her to my own body. I finally had the satisfaction of being able to run my bare fingers through her amber hair, marveling how it felt when it was wet. Her slender fingers ran up and down my sides and my stomach did flips.

She pulled away from me for a moment and I pretended to pout. However the gesture transformed into an easy smile as her soft lips met with my own.

I expected the touch to be quick, to not last very long, so I guess I was mildly surprised when her lips stayed in contact with mine, moving with slow fluency. Actually I didn't exactly pull back myself, so it wasn't all that much of a surprise.

Her hands gently caressed my cheek as we both deepened the kiss. The tips of her fingers, I noticed, were slightly rougher than they normally were, perhaps because of callouses. I should talk; my whole body was practically a callous and today's battle didn't help either.

I pressed myself of against her tightly so our stomachs pressed, skin against skin. One of my hands traced its way up her back while the other left her hair to keep a firm hold on her waist. Her fingers twirled in my ebony hair only briefly before dipping down to flutter over my shoulders and chest. I moaned softly against her as I felt one of her hands caress the back of my neck.

My body was becoming incredibly hot. I may have even been sweating but I doubt it was possible to tell between the warm bubbling waters and the dense could of steam in the air. Starfire's lips left my mouth for a moment as she kissed the corner of her mouth. I could feel the shape of her lips and tell that she was smiling just ever so slightly. She kissed my cheek swiftly before she worked her way down my jaw. Each kiss lingered for a second longer that I assumed it would, and each one left a mark of fire upon my skin.

My eyes fluttered shut when she reached my neck. She brushed her face against mine before continuing to burn her way down my neck and shoulders. Even though I was very, _very_ warm, goose bumps appeared on my skin. Her arms then wrapped around my neck in that oh too familiar way, and she pressed herself even closer to me. I could feel the entire shape of her body against mine and I couldn't help thinking how perfectly we fit together.

Star spread her legs a little as the pouring waters from one of the jets tickled her thighs. She probably didn't realize it, but one of her legs was starting to slip in between mine. Well, at that point I was dangerously close to moaning again and I doubt that would go over well if Cyborg heard, so I unclipped her gorget and tossed it away. Hopefully the feel of her skin against my own lips could distract me enough to keep my mind clear.

She giggled again and I was reminded of my previous dream. I guess this was it coming true except it felt so, so much better than I ever thought it would. The warm water was a nice surprise too.

I didn't kiss her too hard because I didn't want to leave hickeys like the last time I had kissed her there. That was kind of an awkward thing for our friends to discover as well. But surely they must know by now that we were together? It was only a matter of time really, because in reality it was truly inevitable. I was just the last one to be able to figure that out for myself…as usual.

Still though, wouldn't they become suspicious? How long were we there for anyway? Almost forty-five minutes? An hour, even?

I released the neck of her skin from my lips, coming up to face her. "Star don't you think…" I trailed off as I gazed into her eyes. I had only seen them once like that before, and right then she looked the most beautiful I had ever seen.

Those magnificent emerald orbs were glazed over in some kind of fog, like she wasn't really seeing me. Or maybe _all_ she was seeing was me. That at that moment, that was the only thing that mattered in the world. I kind of liked that idea.

Then a thought plagued me. There might be a day where I would never see her like that again, or never seen her again period. Today could have been a perfect example. I just couldn't bare that thought, and with that a new feeling swelled in my chest.

My lips crushed against hers in frenzy, and she seemed to keep up with me perfectly well. Her hands were running over my chest again except there was a frantic way about it, like she couldn't get close enough to me.

My hands were everywhere at once. Her hair, her neck, her face, her shoulders, her stomach, her legs, the hem of her skirt, just under her chest, her ribs, and finally her hips. I angled them towards me, and this time I was sure that she deliberately placed her thigh in between my legs.

I couldn't breathe. I was drowning in her, and the funny thing was I didn't care. She kept making these noises that made my mind go fuzzy. The steam fogged my senses, fogged my entire being. I didn't bother to stifle my moans any more. They were probably echoing around the whole bathroom, and I wasn't even concerned that the others would hear.

There was that feeling again, of drowning. I really needed air desperately, but I would regret any moment where my lips weren't pressed against hers. Her scent filled my nose and the slight gap between our both now open mouths.

Wait…I think I was actually drowning.

I broke apart from her and we surfaced again laughing. The water around us was died a deep pink, evidence from our fight. I licked my lips so I could still taste the strawberries. I looked around and noticed the room itself had visibly darkened. It must have been much later that I had thought.

With a sigh I pressed a button which I knew drained the water from the tub. I had the decency to not stare at her what remained of her uniform. That battle had really torn in to shreds…just the battle…not…not anything…else.

"You can do the looking at me now," she told me after she had wrapped a towel around herself.

I glanced at her even before she had finished her sentence. Because the fact was, I couldn't bear _not_ looking at her.

Starfire's cheeks were flushed and her hair was tangles slightly. Her shoulders were still wet and the water glistened visibly upon her tan skin. I wrapped her in her arms and buried my face in her neck.

"That was amazing," I murmured.

She gave a soft chuckle. "Yes, I found it most enjoyable. You are quite enticing when you are wet."

That comment made me redder than you would ever believe.

~0~0~0~

I think we were both too embarrassed to come down to dinner with the rest of the Titans so we sort of…camped out in the training room until everyone went to bed. We then took that opportunity to sneak down to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

I went over to check the monitors while Star rummaged through the fridge. I was dismayed that the scanners still revealed nothing, but before I could become too upset, Star's voice entered my thoughts.

"Robin, I believe Cyborg has left you the note."

I muttered something in annoyance before I took it from her, already cautious of what it might say. I glanced down at the messy scrawl and flinched.

_I'm watching you Boy Blunder. Keep it in your pants._

I shredded the note before Starfire could peek over my shoulder to ask what he meant.

**Author's Note:**

_I know, not the most EXCITING chapter, but I had gotten a few requests about this make-out thing. There will be cuddling and action in the next chapter as well. Hope you enjoyed it! Keep reviewing! :)_


	12. From Another Planet

**Author's Note:**

_My second chapter to my drabbles is now up!_

For some odd possessive reason, I didn't want Starfire and me to go our separate ways once we had satisfied our hunger with a midnight snack. Instead I convinced her-and to my pleasure it didn't take much to do just that-to spend the night on the couch with me. However only when we were settled did it occur to me that this would be quite a sight for the others in the morning, so we took "shelter" in my room instead.

I intended to follow Cyborg's note, no matter how…._clear_ his message was. It hadn't even crossed my mind in the first place…had it?

Who was I kidding? _Of course_ it had. But there was no way I was going to risk something like that with her. We had only just technically gotten together.

Still though it didn't feel that way. It was like we had gotten together years ago, but we both hadn't realized it yet…or I hadn't anyway. What can I say? I'm not the fastest person when it comes to this stuff.

She did look adorable curled up in my sheets though. I crawled right under them with her, wrapping her in my arms. She slid down further so her head was resting on my shoulder. I guess I was kind of thankful for that. It made me feel taller as stupid as that sounds.

When I felt Star's breathing begin to slow, I knew she had fallen asleep. I buried my face in her hair, inhaling her scent, knowing in the back of my mind that I might never be able to experience that again.

~0~0~0~

I woke up to the soothing feeling of soft lips against my neck. I chuckled and a deep rumbling erupted from the base of my throat upwards. Starfire giggled and kissed my nose before leaping out bed. I groaned as she forced me out of bed also, insisting that we must have breakfast if we are to ensure a successful day. That's when I remembered all of the threats and consequences ahead.

After we had both dressed and gotten ready for the day, we burst into the ops room which was already occupied by the other Titans. Cyborg was attempting to make bacon, but was swearing as his fingers twisted different ways. I was surprised that Beast Boy wasn't complaining about the stench of cooking meat in the air, but I think the fact that he was holding Raven's hand on the couch had something to do with his mood.

I cleared my throat loudly as we entered gaining their attention. I took a deep breath before I started. "Alright Titans, we need to remain focused today. This is our last chance to hunt down Slade for the sake of our city. We need to be attentive at all times and-"

"Oh, _hell_ no," Cyborg piped in, waving his spatula at me. "You can't just pipe in after what went down last night."

I noticed that Starfire scooted the tiniest bit away from me. My eyes narrowed at the cybernetic fool.

_"Yeah,"_ Beast Boy added, turning around with a wide grin on his face. "That was totally nasty, I mean _seriously_ get a room!" He started to cackle when Raven cuffed him on the back of the head.

I seethed, "You should talk," I snapped to that stupid grass stain, and sure enough he hushed up immediately. Raven didn't seem to amused though. Once regaining my composure I started in again with my speech. "As I was saying, we have to be focused on patrolling today. We need to think of places that Slade would think of. Expect the unexpected. What's everyone's status report currently?"

Raven sighed, letting go of Beast Boy's hand. "I can levitate, and sense things vaguely but other than that, I'm useless."

"You're not useless!" BB protested, and then slumped his shoulders. "Not like I am anyway. I can only turn into insects, not like that's going to be much help."

"Cyborg?" I asked, my voice starting to strain from exasperation.

"No weapons, can barely move," he shrugged, focusing on the burning strips of bacon.

"What about you Star?" I inquired, turning around. She was jumping in the air and a few times I thought I saw her linger there before falling back down. She then flicked her hands and I assumed she was trying to produce starbolts. She narrowed her eyes and a brief flash of green fire flicked across them before returning to normal. She looked at me helplessly.

"It seems the only thing that is in the tact is my strength, but I tire quite easily." She looked away then, as if ashamed of herself.

I nodded, mostly to myself, trying desperately to think of a plan. It didn't make sense. Their powers had worsened, but we hadn't eaten any kinds of pizza for the past few days. Why were they getting worse with time?

_Maybe it's too late._

I didn't want to think of it, but maybe three rounds of pizza was all Slade needed to disable my team's powers. Perhaps now he really was in total control. Not for long, not while I was still alive and breathing.

"Titans," I snapped my head up, my mask narrowing as determination flooded my veins. "We need to head out as soon as possible. Recover the areas we've already checked, locate other routes that we wouldn't have thought of."

They crowded around me as I spoke to them again, suggesting routes that I would never had thought about twice, but could now be a chance to finding Slade. When I was finished I looked at the tired faces of my team. Although they were currently at a disadvantage, their faces also portrayed the anger and determination that was also present with inside me. However I noticed one Titan's features wavered a bit.

"But…what about breakfast?" Beast Boy questioned.

~0~0~0~

As a few pieces of burnt bacon and a stack of waffles we went different ways as much as I didn't want to. However we had until sunset to find someone I wasn't even really sure was in Jump anymore, so it was the only realistic option we had left at that point.

Raven and Cyborg were checking near the center of the city and down past any foreboding alleyways that were in close range. Beast Boy, Starfire and I had taken to checking down in the musty, dank passageways of the sewer, much to Beast Boy's complaint.

"You really think Slade's gonna wanna get his feet all wet?" he tried to reason as we circled back around another way, my scanners indicating that we were heading towards the ocean. "I mean seriously, the guy probably can't even swim. What would he hide down here anyway?"

"Perhaps he is plotting another sort of distraction?" Starfire suggested uncertainly, holding a finger to her nose to block out the stench.

I shook my head, dismissing the thought. "I know Slade. He's trying to give us a chance to defeat him by not making it overly hard. It's all just a game to him."

"Well can we just play monopoly instead?" Beast Boy whined.

I ignore that.

"I do hope our friends are having better luck than us," Star sighed, her hand accidently brushing mine.

I sighed also. "Hopefully, but they would have contacted us if they did. Speaking of which-"

I pressed a button on my communicator and held it to my mouth. "Cyborg, Raven, report."

Cyborg's voice crackled over the other end. "Nothing here man, and we checked it like seven times. We're going to check by the docks again, in case that slime thing reassembled itself."

I nodded, forgetting that he couldn't see me at the moment. "Alright, remain alert. Over."

Turning off the communicator, I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. Where could he be? Would he be on the outskirts of town? We had already checked there. Maybe he was just moving constantly, sneaking off as soon as we came in close range of his current hiding place. Then again he had said he was somewhere specific. But of course he had lied to use before.

"Maybe we should just turn back," I mumbled irritable, shaking the cold sewer water from my boot.

"But perhaps if we look a little further-" Starfire queried.

"Nah, I'm with Rob on this one. There are other places to look. Places that are less…EW," Beast Boy jumped in, looking around at out whereabouts in disgust.

"Maybe we should just give up looking in general," I mused. By the look on both their faces it was like they thought I was Gnarrk dressed up in disguise. "I mean just start setting up protective barriers throughout the city," I assure them quickly.

"But Raven's powers are of no current use."

"I know that, but there are other ways to protect the city," I reminded her. "We'll be prepared for anything that Slade will throw at us."

"And how will you do that when you can't even locate me?"

We all whipped around, poised for an attack, but the passageways remained empty. We slowly followed the directions from where we heard the voice. "Slade," I muttered, and then shouted. "Show yourself!" I commanded, my voice echoing around the sewer walls.

"And just why, Robin, would I do that?"

The silence that followed afterwards was almost too much to bear.

"That dude just keeps getting creepier and creepier," Beast Boy muttered.

I let out a growl of pure fury and raced down the tunnel, searching for someone that clearly was not there anymore.

"Robin!" Starfire's voice stopped me. My breathing was ragged, and a pulse throbbed dangerously fast in my neck. I fell to my knees, gripping the cement at the bottom of the green water that left a foul stench in my nose. I was so angry and so frustrated that I couldn't think clearly. Everything around me seemed to turn red and warm. Including the water which was no longer cold.

_That's strange_, _it's still March. _

My eyes widened at the sudden realization. _The memorial._

"The memorial," I told Starfire, glancing up at her. She had a similar reaction as I had had.

Beast Boy looked between us, back and forth and then crossed his arms. "Man I never understand _anything!_"

~0~0~0~

Once we had regrouped, and I had given a somewhat vague description of how I knew where Slade was, we raced to the very spot Starfire had shown me only three days ago. However it seemed as if months had paced since I had seen it last.

Clouds were beginning to form overhead and thunder rumbled in the distance. I wasn't sure if Slade was causing this or not, but it sure fit the scene and the seriousness of what was to come.

We arrived several minutes later at my parents' memorial. Starfire leapt into the water as soon as the river was in sight. She surfaced a minute later with a helpless look on her face and what I had been dreading was confirmed. The fluorite was gone.

"Surprised, Titans?"

We snapped around to face the speaker, my hands tightened into fists. Starfire appeared at my side moments later, dripping with water. My eyes searched the gloom straining when I noticed a faint pinkish red glow. It grew brighter, and brighter still until I could make out the form of a silhouette. Fog clouded around the waterfall and surrounded us. I could barely make out ten feet in front of me.

"I'm actually a little disappointed that you couldn't have figured it out faster," Slade continued, his outline disappearing once more.

We automatically pressed our backs together so we formed a circle, our eyes scanned the area for any sign of him, any sign of anything at all.

"Well I suppose it doesn't matter anymore. You're here, just like I hoped you would be."

"Enough games Slade!" I yelled, my voice bouncing off the stones and echoing across the water.

"Seriously man, just give up already," Cyborg piped in.

"We know your plans now," Raven added.

"Do you?" Slade responded quietly, his voice clouding my thoughts. "Actually my dear, I don't think you know my plans at all."

"The _orthax_ you captured was destroyed. You have no other sources of sufficient protection!" Starfire's high-pitched voice rang out.

"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong," he continued, his voice seeming to be much, much closer than before. We backed up into a tighter circle. I began to grow more and more agitated by the second. "I have ties Princess, ties that not even you can break."

"Don't call her that," I snapped.

"Such anger," Slade scolded. "What would your parents say?"

My fury in full peak, I leapt towards where I had heard the voice last, swinging my fists heavily, but not one of my jabs made contact.

"My, my Robin," Slade continued as I gave up, my shoulders were hunched and I was breathing heavily. I couldn't see my team anymore. Just fog and that pinkish red glow. "You've certainly lost touch haven't you? Been focused on other things I see?"

I growled, knowing exactly where this was headed. "You can't win Slade. Like Starfire said, you don't have anybody left. You're on your own. No one on this entire planet would ever help you!"

"Perhaps not this planet, you're right about that, but maybe another one."

My voice wavered as I spoke. "Tamaran."

He made a disappointed "tsk, tsk" sound. "And I thought you were the detective of the group."

I leapt towards his voice again, completing a series of roundhouse kicks and punches, following the moving orb of light. It kept getting farther away though. Every time I came even remotely close to reaching it, it shimmered and appeared farther away.

_He's teleporting,_ I realized.

"Come out you coward," I shrieked, my voice sounding crazy and shrill. "Come out and fight!"

"My boy, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself, let alone defeat me. I'm unstoppable."

"Who did you contact?!" I cried, gritting my teeth. "Who gave you the _orthax?_"

"I'm sure you can figure it out…"

I could, I just didn't want to. I had told Star not to worry about him, to just get over him. He couldn't hurt her anymore, he was gone. And he would never come back, but apparently I was wrong. So, so very wrong.

"Trogaar."

Slade didn't answer, but he didn't need to. I was right, and I didn't need his input to confirm that I was right.

The sky was growing darker and thunder rumbled in the distance again. I swear lightening crackled across the sky or maybe that really was just me going crazy. I guess I wouldn't really be surprised at this point.

The pinkish red glow faded and I was along in a sea of fog. I could still hear the rushing of the river, and I thought if I could just manage to make my way back to it, I could locate my team. As the minutes ticked by however I grew more and more anxious. I took out my communicator.

"Cyborg?" I called into it. No answer. "Beast Boy? Raven?" Nothing. I could hear my heart hammering in my chest. "Starfire?" I said a little quieter now. However even if my voice was soft it seemed to echo around the area as if trying to prove how alone I really was at that point.

The noise of the waterfall was barely existent now, even if I hadn't moved for several minutes. Was Slade doing this? Of course he was; what kind of a question was that?

It was silent.

And then Starfire's scream shattered the silence like glass.

"Starfire!" I screamed, running again, towards her, towards the team. The fog lifted suddenly, evaporated into the air like nothing. If someone had just walked by now they wouldn't have even noticed it was there.

I could see the waterfall again, and the river, and the markings of my parents' names carved into the unforgiving stone. However that wasn't the thing that stopped me in my tracks. Enormous chunk of fluorite did.

It was huge, larger than a car, just about, and several wires were connected on various places along the great mass, all leading to one source. Slade.

He just stood there, staring at me, like a nightmare. He didn't seem particularly angry, just a little bored. However that didn't mean that I _wasn't _angry.

"What did you do to her?!" I yelled, charging at him. He dodged me easily, grabbed my cape and pushed me out in front of him. I charged at him again but he held out a hand to stop me. It was a pathetic attempt at a block, however I found myself unable to move as my body was enveloped in a pink glow.

I was lifted a few feet off the ground effortlessly, and was turned around to see my friends in the exact same position.

"So you see Titans," Slade continued. "You really have lost." He flicked his wrist and we were tossed in various directions. I was fortunate enough to land in the river, while the others crashed into trees and the solid ground.

As I surfaced I yelled, "Titans, Go!" Ignoring the sensation of dread in my stomach. As I swam to the edge to join them something tugged on my foot and I was pulled under again.

I hadn't had the opportunity to get a decent breath so my lungs filled with water. Thrashing wildly, I realized that what clutched my ankle was a hand. Not just any hand though. A slimy, green, scaled hand, one that only belongs to a Gordanian. I threw a bird-a-rang at Trogaar's hand, and it sunk into the scaly skin and released me immediately. However at that exact moment my head collided with stone by the waterfall.

Everything else happened in foggy flashes.

I was drifting, my cape billowed everywhere and I didn't mind. I felt totally relaxed. My hair drifted in the water and although my head hurt, I wouldn't have minded if I had stayed there the rest of my life. However my chest ached terribly, like something was pushing down on it. Little bubbles drifted out of my mouth and tickled my lips. The light of the world slowly drifted away and then came back all at once. A giant mechanical hand reached into the water and plucked me out, and I could suddenly breathe again.

"You okay, man?" three Cyborgs asked me and I blinked my eyes until they molded into one. I nodded, shakily, looking around. The others were still trying to fight Slade. They were failing.

Suddenly fully conscious, my eyes narrowed and I forced myself to throw up water, before I wiped my mouth and stood up. "Let's take him down," I told Cyborg, readying myself before launching into a full throttle attack.

**Author's Note:**

_Wow, xxGUSHINESSxx it's really obvious what's going to happen. They'll fight and win and then Slade and Trogaar will be captured, right? Right? WRONG! See what happens soon, but in the meantime review!_


	13. This Is It

Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I charged towards the shimmering figure of Slade, his body crackling with colorful energy. He didn't seem alarmed because of the fact that he was outnumbered; he almost seemed as if he had preferred it this way. That's when I recalled that he thought this was only a game. A game and nothing else.

I threw a number of smoke bombs at him, but they blasted around him harmlessly. I tossed several bird-a-rangs at the giant looming fluorite stone, but as soon as my weapons touched the mineral, they disintegrated. My brows furrowed in frustration. How were we supposed to defeat Slade if we couldn't even touch him? Maybe if one of us caused a distraction…

"Coward!" I screamed at him, throwing my hands up in the air. "If you were a true villain you wouldn't rely only on your powers. I never expected you to stoop down to the ranks of metahumans."

Slade didn't so much as turn his head when he addressed me. "You know very well that I can defeat you with a flick of my hand, Robin. However I'm simply relishing in the fact that I'm now _invincible._"

As if to prove his words he raised his arms, summoning his powers. In result a magnificent chunk of Earth rose from the ground and flew towards me. I broke the little crumblings of earth and dodged the ones that happened to be bigger than myself. I just had to hope that my team realized why I was provoking him.

Suddenly I heard a scream ring through the air and my blood rang cold. As the last pieces of earth shattered around me, I could now see a dark blue colored figure lying motionless near the edge of the clearing.

"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted running to her side.

"Beast Boy, look out!" I bellowed as more pieces of earth erupted from the ground, lifting the changeling and tossing him up into the air like a dummy. As he feel, I caught him by the collar and hoisted him over to the edge of the clearing where we could be out of view of the battle.

His green eyes were wide and it was like he wasn't really seeing me. His pupils kept darting around and then settling on a point in the distance. He pushed away from me and scrambled over to Raven where he picked up her limp body in his arms and toted her to safety. I joined them a few moments later.

"Is she…?" he asked, his voice sounding like that of a lost puppy. I grabbed her wrist perhaps a little too roughly, but I couldn't help it. I was so consumed by my anger and hatred.

"She's alive," I confirmed.

Beast Boy sighed in relief.

"She needs medical assistance," I continued, my feet itching to run me back into battle while another part of me insisted on staying with my friend.

He nodded, his eyes never moving from her form. Suddenly, as if on cue, Raven let out a small moan and her eyes fluttered. "W-wha…?"

"Think you can look after her for now?" I asked Beast Boy, anxiousness clawing its way up my throat when I heard Cyborg groaning in pain.

Beast Boy nodded again, but Raven sat up to look me straight in the eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, I can look after myself," she snapped, although her eyes were gentle, and she made no sudden moves to return to battle. "Be careful," she murmured to me.

It was my turn to nod as I exchanged looks between my two teammates. Was this all I really had for hope left? Trying not to dwell on it too much, I bounced up and raced back into the clearing where Starfire was engaging in heated hand to hand combat with Slade.

It appeared as if he was trying to let her get the upper hand, make her believe as if she was winning before landing a few blows of his own to stun her. It would have angered me greatly, and it sure did anger her. She was filled with such rage that her eyes glowed green briefly before flickering out once more.

"Robin," Cyborg called from where he lay, all twisted up. I gave one last glance towards Stat before I knelt down next to him, my hand on his shoulder.

"Can you move?" I demanded my voice thick with anger and exhaustion.

He winced and I had my answer. "It's nothing," he lied, looking in the other direction. "I'll have my strength back in a few minutes. I just wanted to make sure Raven was okay."

"She's fine," I answered, although even I could admit that I was doubtful. Sure she was okay now, but how would she be after a few more falls? A few more hits? She might not eve rise again, and this went for all of us.

Were we really fighting a hopeless battle?

A giant splash nearby indicated that Starfire had been disarmed. I extended my bo staff and rang towards Slade's back, as he was currently facing the water. I whipped it in a horizontal path, making contact with the side of his head. About three inches were taken off my staff as it slowly disintegrated. I watched in horror as he turned around calmly to face me, completely unnerved, and unharmed. He had what I assumed to be a smirk on his face.

"Didn't think you could disarm so easily did you?" he asked innocently, taking a few steps closer to me with each word. His footsteps left acid marks in the soft dirt. He clenched his fists and long thing blades appeared where his fingernails out to be. They were dyed a sickly pink color, a glistened ominously in the remainder of the sun.

"What…?"

"Poison," Slade explained, examining his nails. "Or as some people refer to is as, 'Bright Poison.' There's nothing to fear though. Its bite is much worse than its bark."

Even as he approached me, his fingers bared like hungry claws, literally dripping with the _orthax's_ poison, all I could think of was how much it looked like a manicure.

"Hey!" Beast Boy called from up in the air. I gazed up briefly, noting that Raven was back levitating in the air with his hands in hers. Apparently Beast Boy _had_ understood my previous intentions. "Hey!" he called again, and Slade also glanced up his visible eye narrowing in annoyance. "Where'd you get your nails done? Was it at Fancy Fabs?" he provoked, batting his eyelashes. I thought caught Raven rolling her eyes. Ah...those two never change.

I wasn't really sure how Slade was going to answer to something like that. I mean it _was_ true even though his "makeover" was much deadlier than most. However I would never know his answer because something else happened.

Apparently Starfire had used our distractions to crawl out of the water and launch herself at the mass of fluorite, smashing it into bits with her alien strength. The chemical activity radiating off of the mineral hadn't affected her like it would to humans, however like I had expected, she was crouched over by the waterfall panting for breath. The force of the blast had caused the stone to break, destroying the waterfall and my parents' memorial in general. Their names were broken off in chunks and then as the chunks fell, Starfire was masked from my vision. My face drained of blood.

Slade suddenly returned to his normal color, his body no longer crackled in energy. The only source of fluorite he had left was the amulet he wore on his chest.

Still he didn't seem angry. His plans were destroyed no doubt, even though he was still considered incredibly powerful. He seemed calm except his eye was slanted into a slit.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that," he said, pressing on the amulet.

All around me, my friends shrieked in pain. Raven fell to the ground with a sickening thud as her powers failed her, Beast Boy landing close by. They didn't rise again. Cyborg shrieks grew quieter and quieter until he flickered out completely. He was now utterly unresponsive. The rocks around Starfire seemed to glow and crackle as well and I realized she had not been crushed. However she let out a shriek as well, her body was being drained of its energy until she stopped screaming as well. Regardless of what state she was in, she was human now. Just like me.

"No!" I shrieked, as I watched my teammates fall, one by one.

I yelled in outrage when I was suddenly enveloped in pink energy, restricted once more, unable to reach any of my friends. Slade tossed me onto the ground repeatedly, each time I landed I felt an outrageous pain in my chest and I feared that I had broken ribs. Slade's hands grasped the front of my shirt, punching me across the face and shredding my cape as I landed.

After a few moments I tried to get up although my arms were shaking. With on fluid swing, he kicked me in the ribs, forcing me to the ground once more. I rolled on my back; one of my eyes was swollen shut. I squinted up at Slade in rage; angry that I wasn't strong enough to get up, wasn't strong enough to defeat him. No matter what pain I was feeling though, I forced myself to my knees. My fallen bo staff caught my eye. It was only one foot away. If I could just reach…

Slade's foot stamped down on my wrist and I cried out in pain. He grabbed my hair and forced my face up to look at him.

"Still think you can defeat me?" he questioned, his breathing uneven. So Starfire's attack had weakened him greatly as well. He just had a slight advantage above me. If I could just find a way to gain the upper hand…However he wouldn't even allow that. He was no fool. He knew very well how close he was to losing. No doubt his nervous system was damaged from the electric shock of the fluorite. He had no more room for mistakes. Slade was going to kill me I was sure.

As he hoisted my face up I called him every foul name I knew. He waited until I was halfway through my rant before he smashed my face to the ground. He lifted my head up again and repeated the action. I could feel blood trickling down my nostrils. I lay on my knees, my arms bent forward, almost like I was bowing to him. I tried my hardest,-I really did-to force myself up but I couldn't. I was done.

"What a shame," Slade continued, standing before me, examining him fingernails again. "I had such high hopes for you."

"Leave us alone," I growled, my fingers kneading my palms until even that became too painful.

"I'm not finished with you yet," Slade cocked his head to the side, before his eye shown with a new kind of maliciousness. "But I will be."

This was it. This was to be Robin's demise. I regretted so many things. Not being able to truly forgive my mentor for everything we'd been through….for not being able to get the chance to forgive my _father_. For not being able to tell my friends how much they made a difference in my life and for not being able to tell Starfire how I really appreciated everything she did for me.

Slade raised his hand, his nail glistening with the Bright Poison. I did not shut my eyes. I don't think I could have anyway.

The next part happened in slow motion.

_"Ahhh!" _a fierce battle shriek rang through the air as something, no, _someone_ dove in front of me. My face snapped to the side in horror as Starfire rolled away, her right arm torn in four bloody streaks. Her eyes widened in shock, she looked in my direction but she seemed to stare almost past me, her eyes fogging over with tears and something else.

"Robin," she murmured her voice already so distant and lost.

"How noble," Slade commented, clearly not impressed. His fingers dripped with her blood. His eyes still gleamed with desire, with _murder._

I was fueled with a rage that I had never felt before. No, not rage, hope, spirit, whatever the hell you want to call it. I was filled with strength.

As my blood pounded in my ears, I clutched the remainder of my bo staff and rose to face Slade. He had backed away a couple of feet to offer me space to stand up.

"Now, _this_ is a fair fight," he said, but I didn't hear him at the time.

I ran towards him, twirling my staff, socking him in the face with it, as I slide tackles him, taking his feet out and under. He fell to the ground with a thud and rolled to the side to avoid my next blow. He hopped up easily, however I did not give him the time to defend himself against my other attacks. I jabbed, punched, kicked, flipped, beat, pummeled, and trashed his entire being with blows. Everything he had every done, built within me, was finally let out. With a final cry I stabbed the amulet with my bo staff.

The sensation was terrible. Electric shocks vibrated from my bo staff to my very being and I let go before I was too damaged. Slade was enveloped in an orb of light until he disintegrated entirely. He fell to the ground unmoving, his body an unrecognizable heap. Metal rained down from the sky which confused me. So much metal. Why? I would have to figure that out later. I momentarily forgot who, and where I was, as pink energy swirled around me, encased my friends then left their bodies once more.

Cyborg was the first to rise. He moved his hands fluently, a small smile on his face. Raven helped Beast Boy up after she had stood, her healing hands already working on wounds. However it was fairly difficult because he kept shifting into various animals, just because he could again. I smiled at Cyborg, wiping some of the blood off my face; even though I'm pretty sure it just smeared.

"Well, all right." Cyborg's words weren't the usual yell, just merely a satisfied response. A way of thanking me, even though I had gotten them involved in the first place. Everything was right again. Still though, it felt like something was missing. Like my damaged and shocked mind hadn't registered something.

Beast Boy shifted from a panda into his human form again, all signs of amusement gone. "Um, dude?" he asked quietly.

I followed his gaze to the thing he was looking at. Except he wasn't looking at anything. That was the problem. Starfire was gone.

Suddenly my injuries didn't matter anymore. My head whipped up to the sky where green streaks of energy swirled through. She must have regained the strength to fly off somewhere. Without thinking I ran off in that direction, following the streaks.

"Wait, Robin, your wounds!" Raven called after me, but I wasn't listening anymore.

Although even as I ran, I could feel my ribs starting to throb immensely, and my head began to pound. Blood bubbled from my lips and my wrist was twisted at a slightly off angle. Then Starfire's limping form caught my eye and I was refreshed again, although not for long. My vision was already becoming cloudy, and I knew I would not have a lot of time before I blacked out. I watched at the beautiful Tamaranian Princess collapsed by the banks of the ocean she had wandered on. She was breathing erratically, her hands forced out in front of her. The gentle waves washed over her tan hands.

"Starfire." I just said he name, knowing I didn't even have the strength to yell anymore. I limped to her side, touching her hair, her hands, her face. Oh, even her beautiful face was becoming blurrier by the second. "Starfire, I lo-"

A warm green glow interrupted my thoughts as it filled my field of vision. All I could see was the beautiful bright green, as it washed over me, into my mind, into my soul. I became it, and it became me. It was a tender green, a beautiful green. It was the only thing I saw.

And then black.

**Author's Note:**

_Cliffhanger! Also, I know what you're thinking-maybe-"I thought you said that was not going to happen!" Just wait and see my friends! Also I have school and stuff so even though I'll try and update, I don't know when the next chapter will be posted. Please bear with me though! Please Review, as always!_


	14. Not Sure

Not sure. Not sure of anything anymore. Not sure of where I was, or what I was doing there, or why it was so dark. Not sure why I kept hearing this annoying beeping noise in the back of my mind. As much as I tried to block the noise it kept beeping and beeping, while steadily growing louder. It was as if it was prerecorded, because every beep was to a steady beat. But honestly, how could I tell if it was prerecorded or not? Because I'm just not sure.

Warmth caressed my face and wrist. It wasn't like the warmth that hands produced, and I had a feeling that the warm feeling I was experiencing wasn't for my comfort. Not that it wasn't comfortable, but after a while my skin started to tingle unpleasantly. When it became unbearable, that's when I opened my eyes.

Raven was there. She was standing over me, focusing on healing my wrist. Her eyes narrowed as she worked, and I knew how much concentration this took. After all, healing bones was apparently a tiring process for her. It was strange though. She seemed completely exhausted, as if she had been healing for days. She hadn't noticed that I had woken up. Beast Boy had however, and wherever Raven went, he went too.

"Hey, dude," he said grinning, although the light barely touched his eyes, not like it usually did. He had a few minor scratches on his face-I believed that they used to be open until Raven sealed them closed- but other than that he was unwounded. His clothing was fresh and knew and his hair was slightly damp, making me assume that he had recently took a shower. Raven was the same way, minus the hair part.

Raven glanced at me the same time I let out a small groan. When I tried to sit up she gently pushed me back down. I made an annoyed noise and I thought I saw her give a half smile.

"Don't move," she instructed. "I've just reduced your break to a minor sprain, but don't move until your bones have set. You also have a small concussion." Her hands fussed over my wrist some more before her magic began to fade. She stepped away from me, her deep eyes surveying my entire body before she gave a satisfied nod. "You'll be sore, but you'll live." She cringed at that last part.

I nodded, making a mental note from her reaction. "Thanks you," I said gratefully.

She nodded again. "Anything to help a friend."

It was silent for a few minutes as I tried to summon up the memory of the battle. I remember Slade stepping on my wrist, and falling into the river twice. The second time I was lucky because it had broken my fall instead of my bones but the first…

Something was nagging at the back of my mind. Something that I couldn't forget, that I _wouldn't_ forget. But I was not sure.

Then it came to me.

My head snapped up in alarm. "Trogaar!" I exclaimed, startling Beast Boy. Raven raised her eyebrows at me, a look clearing giving the impression that I had lost my marbles. But I hadn't. I was more with it than any of them.

"Robin, what are you talking about?" she asked sharply.

My eyes narrowed as I recalled the alien's green slimy hand wrapping around my ankle, trying to pull me under, trying to kill me. "When I fell into the river, Trogaar grabbed me, but I escaped. Then Cyborg-" I paused, suddenly realizing he was missing. Had I really forgotten about the rest of my team? "Where is he anyway?"

"Making dinner," Beast Boy informed me, pointing out the door. I followed his finger, becoming momentarily distracted at the thought of food, and my now grumbling stomach. I shook my head firmly. Why were all my thoughts so messy?

"It's your concussion," Raven told me, squinting her eyes as she tried to decipher what I was thinking. She finally gave up and I was thankful she did. I was recalling memories from the battle and I didn't want her to find out the specifics of my torture when she was unconscious.

"But I did see Trogaar," I insisted. "Slade said that he had help from another planet and-"

"Are you sure it wasn't someone else?" she questioned. "Maybe he teamed up with the Brotherhood of Evil."

Beast Boy shook his head, dismissing the thought. "No that's not it, cuz how did Slade get his hands on that slimy whatcha-ma-call-it. I thought they only came from Tamaran."

"_And_ Gordania," I informed him.

"Look, man," Cyborg said as he carefully eased himself in the doorway. His joints were obeying his command better than before; however he was attached to a charging machine. Of course he was. He was recovering. We all were. "We've uh, got to tell you something…about Slade." He looked away letting the silence ease itself into the conversation.

"Well?" I pressed, my voice turning sharp.

"He, uh," Beast Boy jumped in. "That…wasn't him back there."

I froze, look at each one of their faces. No. It couldn't be. I had been so sure. It didn't make sense. Nothing made sense anymore. "What do you mean?"

Cyborg had something in his hand, and he held it up. It was Slade's mask. Except it wasn't his mask at all. I suddenly felt very lightheaded. "It was a robot," Cyborg said softly, staring at the ground.

My hands began to tremble. I shook as tremors rocked throughout my entire being. Raven tried to settle me, but I shook her off. It was all for nothing. This whole time it was for nothing.

"It's not your fault," Beast Boy continued, clearly not getting that whatever he said wouldn't make a difference. "This one was so lifelike. It had weaknesses just like the regular Slade would. Remember when Starfire broke that crystal thing-oomph!" Raven covered his mouth too late.

The anger was gone.

"Robin, wait a second," Raven said carefully. "She's not how you think she's going to be. Something's changed. Something big. You have to-"

I didn't listen to the rest. I couldn't. I sprinted out the door, and for once, they didn't protest.

Where was she? Oh, come on, she had to be here somewhere, right? The infirmary was completely empty. Where was she? Surely they kept her somewhere where she could be tended to? They had to; after all they had for me.

Still though, once I realized the infirmary was empty, I started to search places that I wouldn't normally have expected her to be. The training room. Every corridor and hallway. I checked the places she usually was also. The ops room, her own room, but still she wasn't there.

_The roof._

As I made my way up the stairs my head was starting to pound again and I felt extremely dizzy. However I didn't know if this was because of my injuries or because of what I was feeling currently. I nearly collapsed with relief when I discovered her in her usual position, watching the sunset. The sunset? Had I really been asleep for twenty-four hours? Shaking that though aside I began to dwell on a more pressing matter.

Why was she still alive? She had destroyed herself with her own energy due to the poison? I saw it myself! Even if she hadn't killed herself, shouldn't the poison have? Whatever, it didn't matter; none of it mattered, as long as she was safe.

"Starfire!" I called my voice shrill with joy. I'm not going to lie, I sounded like a little girl.

She turned to me, smiling calmly, her face bathed in sunlight. Of course, she was out here to get stronger with the help of the sun. Her people did this, she had told me. When I first saw her beautiful face I hadn't realized until later that she didn't even have a scratch on her. It was almost as if she was reborn. Her face betrayed amusement and joy, but then suddenly turned to confusion when I wrapped my arms around her, hugging tightly.

She pulled away from me, her eyes blazing with sudden fury until they returned to her normal color. "Oh. You were embracing me because you are glad to see me? It is not an attack?"

"What?" I asked laughing. "No, of course not! Why would I attack you? You've been through enough already. I should have been gentler, I'm sorry. When did you wake up? Did the others make you feel welcome?" I shouldn't have been hammering her with questions but I couldn't help it. I had missed her too much.

She paused, looking unsure. "Yes…the other three are my friends, yes? That I remember. They were most welcoming. At first I believed that they had captured me from my home world, but then they explained to me that I had come willingly, and I think I believe them. You are also my friend, yes?"

The happiness had melted off my face as she spoke. My jaw hung slack. "You…you don't remember who I am?"

Instead of answering me, she looked out to the sea, marveling at the way the sun touched the shimmering waters. She rested her chin on her knee. "What is this place?"

There was a painful swelling in my chest, but I answered her anyway. "Titans' Tower."

She perked up slightly at that before transitioning to her old position. "No, not this," she said, patting the roof gently. "This." She gestured around her.

The swelling in my chest increased tremendously. "Earth."

"Earth," she whispered in water. "Beautiful. So much water and such blue skies. It is magical here. Familiar and magical. The green one was right. This must be my home."

"His name is Beast Boy," I corrected her. "And I'm Robin."

"Oh! You too are named after a creature your planet possesses!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "Raven and Robin. They are both birds?"

"Yeah…"

She pursed her lips in thought. "You know, you did not answer my previous question. You _are_ my friend, yes?"

"Your _best _friend," I told her, smiling a little. "And your boyfriend."

She gave me a questioning look then smiled in understanding. "I believe I can decipher your Earthly terms and phrases. You and I are close?"

I nodded. "Very."

It was her turn to nod. She frowned. "Why can I not remember you? The others seem familiar and so do you. However I remembered you to have eyes. You are blind, yes? Or nocturnal?"

I snorted, and then peeled off my mask. "It's called a secret identity. I wear this mask on purpose so no one can see my true eyes. You're one of the only people who have been able to see them."

She nodded, but she didn't appear to be listening. Star reached out a finger to caress my face, studying my eyes. I thought I heard her murmur something about the ocean again, but it must have been a comparison.

Then I couldn't take it anymore. I leaned over and captured her lips with mine. She made a startled nose and pulled away from me. Shock described her features in every way.

"Surely you do not wish to learn Tamaranian? What purpose would it serve you?" she inquired her eyes still giant pools of green.

I sighed, taking her hand. I should have known it wouldn't have worked, or even lasted. "It's called a kiss. On Earth humans kiss to show affection."

"Oh," she responded quietly, blushing slightly. A frown made her lips turn downwards. "Why can I not remember this? Why can I not remember any of this?" Starfire asked again, her green eyes searching my blue ones.

"You had an accident….You were infected with poison from an _orthax-_" she gasped here, "-and tried to destroy yourself with your own energy. I don't know how you survived…maybe-" I paused as I realized the truth. Raven must have entered her mind. That was why she was so taxed. I don't know how, or when, but somehow she had managed to keep Starfire from flickering out completely, but she had had to pay a price. And that price happened to be Star's memory of us.

"Please," Starfire spoke up after a moment. "I wish to do the remembering now. Can you repair the damage done? Everything is most confusing and I wish for life to return to the way it was…or, the way it is supposedly meant to be." She shrugged. She _shrugged._ An Earthly gesture that she had picked up on the way, and apparently hadn't forgotten. Maybe there was hope after all.

I sighed again, running my thumb over the back of her hand. "I wish I could Starfire, Koriand'r, Star…_whatever_ you want to be called. But I just don't know how to."

Her eyes brimmed with the shadows of unshed tears. "But the one called Cyborg has informed me of your magical powers of the leadership and the wonder. Surely you could, as the Earthlings say, 'jog' my memory?"

The hope and sadness in her eyes made my heart hurt. How could I promise something that was completely and hopelessly beyond my realm of power? She just had to hold onto her share of hope, and I would hold on to mine, and maybe, just maybe, we could get through this.

"I will," I said fiercely, my gaze burning into her own. "I will. You will. You'll remember. And I'll be the one to show you. I promise."

She smiled tears dripping down her face. "Oh," she said softly, letting go of my hand to wipe away the droplet. "It is a stream of tears."

We both had shed them before. I, when my parents had died, hers after Slade's attack, I, after being overwhelmed by Slade's plans, and her, now. Each time we had cried a stream of tears, the other had wiped them away. It had always seemed pointless, fruitless, because every time one was dried, another took its place. However no matter what the situation seemed like, we would always be there for each other, and today was no exception.

"Here, let me," I said gently, taking my tattered glove of so I could feel the salt water on my skin. Her skin was so soft and bright. When Raven brought her back, she really had been reborn. As I thought of Raven I realized that I would have to apologize to her and to the others also. Actually, considering what she had done, I really should be bowing down to the little empath, but we could save the specifics for later.

The sun had gone down by then, turning the sky to mixtures of orange and purple. The color made Starfire's eye shine like stars, which I guess made sense. She was appropriately named and always would be.

I shut my eyes and marveled that her hand was now tracing little circles on my cheek. She paused for a moment and pressed her finger firmly against a particular spot just below my cheekbone, sending a tiny tremor in my face.

"Ow," I muttered.

"My apologies," she said slowly, curiously, her voice dripping like honey. "You have blood showing beneath your skin."

"It's a bruise," I explained. "You get them when you get hurt sometimes."

She gasped. "Y-you are hurt then! That is why your clothing is damaged and your arm is wrapped up in that material! Will you live?"

"What? Yeah! Yes, of course I will, don't worry," I soothed her immediately, seeing that she was all worked up and breathing kind of funny.

"You are sure?" she asked, clearly still skeptical.

I nodded vigorously, taking her hand again. "Everything will be okay in the end. I promise."

Jeez, I had a lot of promises. But I couldn't stop making them, and couldn't stop plotting how to keep them.

Could I really, truly help her remember everything that had gone on between the team in the past two years? All the battles, all the villains, the wins, losses, friends, memories, romance…It was so much to focus on; it was hard to know where exactly to start.

Could I really pull this off? It was hard to say, but I still had to believe, for her sake, and for mine.

Could I really bring back the girl I once knew? The girl I once befriended, the girl I had fought beside, the girl who had saved my life on countless occasions, the girl I had always caught when she fell, the girl I had fallen in love with? I was not sure, and I don't think I ever would be.

Not sure.

**Author's Note:**

_Hope you liked this chapter! There is one more chapter left! Okay, the reason I let Slave live was because he always gets away in the end, and I thought I should live up to that. It would seem a little too unrealistic if they just killed him off right now._

_ Trogaar may make another appearance in my stories if I happen to decide to right more for this series. It depends what you guys think. Should I write another story for this series or is it fine how it is? Well don't answer that quite yet because there is still one more chapter to be posted. However keep reviewing! Thanks!_


	15. Sunrise

Day by day I helped her remember. I would feed her plentiful amounts of mustard which she still loved, as well as told her tons of stories from our previous battles as a team. I told her of myself, even the things that she had never known in the first place, just so I could become closer to her.

The others helped immensely.

Cyborg discussed light travel with her, as well as how everything worked in the tower in case she had happened to forget. Beast Boy told her millions of jokes-although I wasn't sure how that would help-and she laughed at some. It was a useless thing to do in my opinion. At least that's what I believed until she told him that some of his jokes seemed like she'd heard them before.

When Starfire wasn't spending time with me, she was spending time with Raven in her room. The two girls had grown much closer ever since Raven had travelled inside her mind to save her life-not to mention mine. At one point, I think I even heard Raven talking to Star about visiting the "mall of shopping" and painting toenails. Starfire was more than pleased about that.

The two of us spent a lot of time on the roof of the tower. We mostly just talked and laughed about things she remembered, and I answered some questions she had. And believe me, she had many. One day I asked her if she remembered a special place in the city that she used to go to but she shook her head no. Truthfully, I had wanted to visit the place myself, but I don't think I could have without her. Too many bad memories, especially considering that what was once my parents' memorial was now in utter destruction.

Now and then we got calls for trouble, but it was never anything too serious. Even if Starfire didn't know the villain we were fighting most of the time, she realized the situation we were in and fought with her usual strength and stamina. She hadn't recognized any of the villains we had faced until we ran into Red X again. Wow, we hadn't seen him in a while. After we had fought him-he got away as always-Star asked me if I was in the Red X suit. She must have been really confused. Maybe she thought I was a hologram or something. Either way, she knew at one point that that really was me.

When I talked to her about villains and battles, I avoided Slade. I don't exactly know why. I think it was probably for my own selfish reasons. The truth was I really just wasn't ready to relive any of what I had gone through in the past three years I had known the madman. Also, if Starfire didn't remember him, maybe it would be because she would rather not relive her traumatic experiences involving Slade, and if that was the case, I wouldn't blame her.

I did mention Trogaar, once though. That was a big mistake. She went all Warrior Princess on me, and I had spent the next thirty minutes trying to calm her down. When she had settled, she reluctantly explained-well, re-explained, but I didn't stop her, no matter how much I wanted to-what Trogaar's kind had done to her people, as well as her as an individual.

I didn't mention that he was still out there and probably on Earth. She wasn't ready for that. However _I_ was ready for _him._ If I ever saw his scaly, green, face again, he would regret it.

She loved to talk about her brother. _Loved_ to. She didn't talk about Blackfire nearly as much, but it was pretty obvious to guess why. Still even when her older sister was brought up she always said nice things about her, even though I suspected that most of them weren't even true.

Starfire knew that her parents had died. She knew mine had too. Then she wanted to initiate "the hug" and the request was granted. Other than that though, our touches were platonic.

I had reminded her that she had learned language because of me…well because of my lips anyway. As Cyborg said, "At least they're good for something." I ignored that comment.

Other than that little detail though, she seemed to know that we were really close. Closer than she could ever be to any of the others, and she said she liked it that way. It was…nice.

Nice. Now that was the word that had started it all. She told me again how her planet didn't have that word. I responded with "Well, things are different here." I watched in satisfaction as she blushed at that, like she had all that time ago.

I kept things positive in my mind by telling myself that I had dealt with her losing her memory before, when we were trapped in Mod's school of torture. However things were much different then. She was under a spell, and now…I didn't even know what to call this.

Like before, I tried to jog her memory with quotes I had said to her. She laughed at me most of the time, calling me silly and strange. I laughed along with her sometimes, but other times I became annoyed. Not with her, but with myself. Because according to me, if she didn't remember, it was because I wasn't trying hard enough.

Her questions never threw me, at least not until she asked if we were married.

"I only question this because of the golden band on my finger," she explained, holding up the ring I had given her for Christmas, with a curious expression on her face.

I blushed. "Well actually it was just a present, for the uh, 'earthly holiday of Christmas.' But no, we're not married."

"Oh, I see," she said, not looking like she understood at all. She held the ring closely to her face, inspecting every little thing about it. "Oh!" she exclaimed in excitement. "It bears my name? How does it know my name?"

Laughing, I turned her face towards mine. "It's an engraving. I asked the person who made the ring to write your name in the metal. See?" I ran my finger over the fancy scrawl. _"Koriand'r."_

Her face grew pink. "I thank you," she told me sincerely. "Not just for the ring, but for everything you have taught me…or….retaught me," she gave a small smile.

My gaze softened. "I'd do anything for you, I hope you know that."

She nodded, her eyes glowing with warmth and something else. "Yes, I suppose the feeling is mutual." She looked at her ring for a moment longer before dropping her hand to her side. We watched the sky as it slowly grew from dark to light, promising the new day. Although most couples preferred the sunset, it was always the other way around with Starfire. I had asked her about it one time, and she had explained that she like the idea of a promise. A promise of a new day.

"Starfire?" I asked after a while of comfortable silence.

"Mm-hmm?" she asked, still watching the sky.

"Dos the name…Slade sound familiar at all?"

She turned to face me. Her eyes lit up with some sort of emotion that I couldn't quite decipher. Was it fear? Anger? Despair? I couldn't tell because as quickly as it had crossed her eyes, it was gone.

"No."

I nodded, not really sure what I was expecting her to say. Maybe if a showed her a picture, or a video, or even his mask…

But not yet, there would be time for that later.

As the sun started to peak over the horizon, she allowed me to cuddle her. She rested her head on my shoulder, and I rested my own head on the top of hers. We just sat there, she watching, while I was praying. Praying to whatever God existed in this world. Praying my thanks, my gratitude, for her, and her life which was so close to just perishing along with my parents'.

I would always protect her, always be by her side to catch her when she falls. At first I thought it was because I didn't want her to suffer the same fate as my parents had, but now I realize it was for a different reason.

When my parents had died, I didn't think that I would ever get over it. I would need a great stroke of luck, a miracle…But I guess in actuality I didn't. I just needed a friend, a piece of hope.

Turns out I've had it this whole time.

**The End**


End file.
